


Spinning The Flags Of Freedom

by pjam



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Color Guard, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Marching Band, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2013-09-15
Updated: 2014-04-29
Packaged: 2017-12-26 15:59:58
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 11
Words: 45,071
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/967864
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/pjam/pseuds/pjam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Eren Yeager plays trombone and all of his friends are in marching band. He doesn't mind being known as a geek-- being a member of the band isn't so bad, right? Well, after four consecutive years of marching, he's growing tired of the activity. The only thing that pushes him through rehearsal is the chance that he'll be able to steal glances from the color guard captain. But it's taboo in the marching band world-- color guard members are hated by the band. For what reason, it's a mystery. But what were to happen if a member of the band was forced to join the color guard as a payment of debt?</p><p>It's Eren's worst nightmare.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. I Can't, I Have Rehearsal.

Eren Yeager had been playing the trombone ever since he could remember. He started taking lessons when he was just a mere eight years old, requested by his father who had grown up surrounded by music. Eren’s father was terribly passionate about marching band. He had started in middle school himself, taking private lessons outside of class. By the time he was in high school, he was most definitely the best player in his section. He even marched with some of the most popular drum and bugle corps during the summer months. Eren’s father had even met his wife through marching band. However, she was a member of the color guard. 

  Naturally, growing up in a family that was so heavily involved in marching band during their youth, it was inevitable that Eren would be pushed to join the marching band as soon as he was of age.   Eren didn’t have a problem with playing trombone. In fact, he even had come to like it after so many years. But after reading the same music over and over again, spending countless hours practicing and perfecting each note, the activity became just a little tiresome. His adopted sister Mikasa, who decided to take lessons to learn how to play the clarinet at an early age, often encouraged Eren when he wasn’t feeling too enthusiastic about going to rehearsal for three and a half hours every night.  

Playing trombone in middle school had proved to be very different compared to when Eren finally graduated and began his first year in Shinganshima High’s marching band. He liked to consider himself a talented trombone player, but upon reaching the high school level, the boy quickly came to realize that he was simply average in comparison to the others in his section. Eren had entered high school with high hopes of making a name of himself, to be known within the band by merely his spectacular talent.   When he played his trombone, every note stringing together perfectly to create a beautiful and powerful song, he wanted his peers to be able to instantly know that it was his lips and his instrument making that sound.  But that dream was almost instantly crushed.  

Shinganshima High School had always taken pride in their students in the art department. While other schools across the nation fought with the school board to keep departments like music and drama available for reasons involving salary, the students at Shinganshima were so talented that the advisors had no trouble paying those teachers in the department based on the money these students earned by putting on productions and concerts. Every department-- choir, band, drama, and art in general was extremely competitive. That was one detail that Eren’s parents failed to warn him about before he entered high school.

  But now, in his senior year of high school, Eren Yeager couldn’t have cared less. He simply dragged himself out of the house, allowing Mikasa to drive the beat-up Subaru Forester that they had agreed on sharing for transportation to rehearsal every night at six o’clock sharp, just so he could qualify for a scholarship he would most likely lose to someone else in his section anyway.   But for whatever reason, he still had just a glimmer of hope.  

Maybe it was the cheers from the crowd that he heard whenever the band finished one of their big numbers at the annual field show competition at the big stadium. It could have been the feeling of power he received whenever he had the chance to direct the underclassmen at rehearsal. Or maybe it was just Eren’s hidden passion for playing trombone. 

As much as he absolutely _loathed_ dragging himself through those long-ass rehearsals, zoning out at nothing in particular as his band director shouted at the freshmen, who not surprisingly, had no idea where their dots were on the field, Eren would always look forward to the moments where he could just _play_ without worrying about anything else. 

September 25th, 2013 

Another Wednesday rehearsal that Eren wasn’t exactly looking forward to. The fact that it was raining cats and dogs outside hadn’t made him any more excited to practice drill out on the field. He had been shouting at his old friend Connie over his headset during a heated game of World of Warcraft when Mikasa pounded her particularly strong fist against the wood of his bedroom door.

  “Eren, get up off your ass or we’re going to be late, _again._ ”

Eren cursed underneath his breath while the distraction caused his health to rapidly deplete after a mob of Tar Beasts crept up on him from out of no where.  

“What the hell was that?!” Connie’s shrill voice could be heard from his left ear. The right side of his headset was unfortunately not working due to a small fit of rage when he had thrown the set off of his head last time he was grinding. 

  “Mikasa.” He huffed beneath his breath. “Dude, I’ve got band at six. But I think you can handle this mission on your own, right?” God, Eren was a terrible friend. “Good luck, _Conine._ ” The brunette breathed.   Connie’s shrieks of absolute horror were giving Eren a minor headache as he signed off. 

After swiveling around in his computer chair and pushing his keyboard back into the desk, Eren lifted himself from his seat, groaning at his suddenly sore back. Now he remembered why he didn’t exactly enjoy long hours of sitting on his ass playing WoW. He made a quick stop to grab his letterman off his unmade bed, slinging it over his shoulder before he moved to slip on his tennis shoes on his way out.   If there was one thing he enjoyed about participating band in all four seasons, Eren did get to design his own Letterman’s Jacket. The main part of the jacket was a deep, dark blue color. The sleeves were white, and the collar and plush cuffs at the ends were colored grey. These colors were his high school’s spirit colors. There was a big “S” for Shinganshima in white with a dark blue border around the letter on the right breast, with a black felt trombone inside. Band was his only letter, but he still felt pretty damn cool wearing the jacket to practice.

Finally, Eren had left his room, surprised to see that Mikasa was still waiting for him on the other side. She wore an unpleasant look on her face, her thin ebony brows furrowed in irritation while her glossy lips curved downward into a disapproving pout.  “You’re always on the computer.” She noted with a set of narrowed eyes. “It’s not good for your health.”  

“Hey, I’ve actually been cutting back a lot.” Eren replied, moving to shove his arms through the leather sleeves of his jacket. “Connie’s been pretty pissed now that I don’t help him with grinding as much as I used to.”

Mikasa replied with a roll of her eyes before turning on her heel, careful not to scuff her white Chuck Taylors against the hard wood floor of the hall. Eren followed suit, running cold fingers through his thick dark chocolate hair to adjust the look of his pesky bangs. On their way out the door, Mikasa shouted to their parents, who were most likely in the kitchen or upstairs, that they were leaving to go to rehearsal. Eren’s mother’s voice could be heard shouting a very kind “drive safely!” before the door was closed behind them.  To say that the weather was horrible had been an understatement.   By the time that Eren and Mikasa had parked their car in the lot nearest to the band room, the rain was coming down in buckets. The sky was completely grey, not a hole of sunshine in sight. Upon looking up with a set of squinting eyes to attempt to keep the rain out of his emerald orbs, Eren managed to note that those very grey clouds threatened to spew lightening. Sadly, even with weather as miserable as this, the extremist band director would surely still insist on having practice outside so that they could perfect their charts.  

Eren ran from the car to the band hallway door, not caring that Mikasa was probably still fishing her instrument out of the backseat of the Forester. He _hated_ the rain, and he was going to spare himself any moment out of it that he could.   It was a short walk down the hallway, sneakers squeaking obnoxiously with each step, before Eren reached the equally obnoxiously squeaky door of the band room. Once that door was opened, the trombonist wasn’t surprised to see a sea of band students crowding the room.   Some sat in their seats, practicing the music for their show. Others were busy getting their instruments inside cases from the closet at the back of the room. There were also a plethora of students standing around mingling with one another, like teenagers tend to do.   The band room was extremely loud, as always. Eren couldn’t even hear himself think. The brunette stalked his way over to his designated seat. No one else dare take it, for he was a Senior and damned straight that seat belonged to him. It had for four years now.   By the time that he had retrieved his case and trombone was around the time that the band director made his way out of his small cube office and down to the center of the room where his podium was located. 

He was about to begin his usual speech, the band students even managing to shut the hell up and rest their instruments in their laps, when everything seemed to freeze.  In that very moment, a senior Eren had come to know by simply Levi directed the color guard down the downward sloping walkway from the hall and to the small section of chairs the students had kindly left for them before rehearsal began.   Eren had never really paid attention to the members of the color guard. Being a part of the band, it was a sort of ritual that the students had. For one reason that no one really knew in particular, the band students didn’t mingle with the members of the color guard. The only reason that was slightly understandable was that every now and again, new members of the guard wouldn’t pay attention where they were spinning their flags during practice and end up colliding with a instrumentalist during rehearsal. But personally, Eren had never experienced that. 

  Maybe it was the terrifying look that Levi naturally wore that scared off the band students. The way his eyes always seemed to be narrow, his brow furrowed as if he were absolutely irritated by everyone in the room and on the field. But Eren could understand that. He was feeling the same way, only inwardly.  In that moment, with Levi looking over his shoulder and murmuring a series of words Eren couldn’t hear from so far away, the boy with a rusty trombone in his lap was able to truly get a look at the color guard captain for more than five seconds without looking away. Now was his chance, when Levi wasn’t looking. God knows if they made eye contact Eren would be the first to retreat.   Despite the fact that his expression really did look irritated, after squinting, Eren was able to see the striking color of Levi’s eyes. They were a beautiful, ashy grey color that was truly unique compared to the rest of the irises that were paying absolute no attention to the director in the center of the room. Eren’s focus moved to Levi’s lips, noting how after they had stopped moving, they pressed into a firm line, even twitching now and again. 

_Man, he must be really having a bad day or something..._

Eren sighed beneath his breath and leaned back against his chair. After a solid forty seconds of staring, he figured enough was enough. But, his old friend Armin wasn’t about to let something like that slide so easily.

  “What’s up with that?” The blonde chuckled beneath his breath as the color guard finally passed by the band director’s podium, moving to take their seats in a timely fashion. “I saw you staring at Mr. Grumpy Pants.”  

“I wasn’t staring--” Eren objected, his brow furrowing while he moved to adjust the sheet music he and Armin would be sharing on the stand before him. “I was just... zoning out.”  

“Right.” Armin laughed softly. By this time, the band director had begun to lecture the students about the schedule for the upcoming homecoming football game. After experiencing the same game three times in a row, neither Eren nor Armin thought it was necessary to pay any attention. “Since when do you have a thing for the color guard?”

“I told you, it’s not like that!” Eren whispered harshly. “Besides... All of the guys in the color guard are gay. I can’t stand gays.”  
   
Armin chose not to comment on his friend’s reply and simply busied himself by staring at the bright brass of his instrument. The two trombonists sat in silence for the rest of the lecture, counting down every minute of rehearsal that the director had just now wasted.

  Saying that those exactly 37 minutes were wasted was not an exaggeration. This year’s group of freshmen were struggling to follow along with the charts and the music. If the marching band wanted to win any sort of award at this year’s big field show competition, they would need every single minute of rehearsal to use to their advantage.

But a change so drastic to the regular routine that Eren had experienced for the last four years wasn’t likely to happen.  


	2. Stay On Your Dot!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Tonight is the first night of rehearsal for the field show season. Eren has a difficult time dealing with the freshmen's shit, and Armin is thankfully there to hold him back from unleashing his internal anger on the younger students. Mikasa is the perfect leader that knows just how to handle the freshmen in her section with just the right amount of intimidation. Drum Major Erwin has trouble controlling the amount of chatter on the field, despite the fact that he is completely serious one hundred percent of the time. Color guard captain Levi has no trouble admitting that he's confident in his skills, and Eren has a problem with that. When practice is nearing the end, Armin has a secret of his own to reveal to his best friend.

“I think my dot is somewhere around here, right?”

“No, you idiot-- You’re way over here! Wait, what number are you?”

“Where’s number 123? I’m looking for number 123! You’re supposed to be right here!”

It was the usual shouts coming from the field around 7:30 PM on any given weeknight. With all the annoying chatter, mixed with the disgusting downpour of rain from above, Eren knew the next person who turned to him with another stupid question would feel the wrath of his suddenly shaking left fist. His right was sadly preoccupied by the brass of his instrument.

The brunette simply stood in his place, on his dot. He refused to move, and he dared not talk. Normally he would gladly help out the freshmen with figuring out their place on the field. But after experiencing the same situation over and _over_ again-- the clueless underclassmen asking for help and then completely ignoring Eren’s instructions all together because God knows that they’re always right-- the trombonist no longer felt the need to contribute.  

Instead, Armin, the only other senior in their section, was forced to take care of the lot. He raced from person to person, his brow furrowed in exhaustion while his eyes were not surprisingly wide with fear. The poor kid always looked like he had a stick shoved up his ass with the way his eyes were always the size of baseballs. When he stopped to talk, he heaved over the chart in the other person’s hands, gasping for what little breath he could steal. It was no wonder he decided to join marching band and not an actual sport.  “What is this formation even supposed to look like?” Poor Armin. Now he had to deal with the task of entertaining their stupid questions, too? That was always the part that Eren loathed the most about the first couple of rehearsals.  

“I think it looks like a stomach or something. See, look!” Eren could practically hear Armin’s internal screams as the blonde turned his head to give the other senior a look of absolute desperation. He was crying out silently for help.  That was when Eren decided to finally draw the line. With a groan and a very dramatic eye roll, the trombonist stomped over to join the two. He purposefully wore an unpleasant look on his face, mainly to intimidate the incredibly annoying underclassmen that insisted their formations always looked like internal organs.  

“The shape of the formation doesn’t matter at this point, okay?” Eren huffed. “Just pay attention to your dot. Next time bring a high lighter or something so you don’t lose where you’re going.” Handing his instrument off to his old friend, Eren placed his hands on either side of the younger trombonist’s shoulders, moving him just four steps to the side to his appropriate spot.   

“Each box represents two steps on the field, got that?” He added with authority. “Just look at the yard lines and the boxes so you can figure out your place on the field without asking for help next time.” Eren turned over his shoulder to exchange an encouraging look with Armin as he spoke his next words.  “Because next rehearsal, the seniors and juniors aren’t allowed to help out. So you gotta do it all on your own.”   Those words were exactly what every underclassmen feared coming onto the field for the first time. It was clear that based on the amount of people looking up at the sky and in various other places where their eyes shouldn’t be that it would take more than just one rehearsal before the freshmen and sophomores were comfortable with their positions.

  Eren took a deep breath before snatching his trombone back from Armin’s hand. With his free one, he gave the blonde a friendly, but very strong slap on the back. “We’ve got a long way to go.” He breathed, mostly to prepare himself for what was to come. Armin’s energy level had already long depleted. It was no use trying to save it now. “Good thing I brought a couple of Double Shots for break time.”

Another hour somehow rolled by before it was time for a routinely twenty-five minute break. Eren was shocked how he managed to make it this long without pulling out his own hair or threatening to hit someone. But after standing around listening to the incredibly idiotic things that left the underclassmen’s mouths, he knew his IQ had depleted by at least fifteen points.  It was a race from off the field and back into the commons of the school. It seemed as if the rest of the band hated the rain as much as Eren did. He didn’t doubt that, either, especially with the way some of the girls used their instruments to protect their hair from the rain.  While the rest of his peers moved into the commons to take a seat, Eren took a detour to stop by his locker, which was conveniently placed to the left of the band room’s main door. He didn’t even have to fight for that locker spot. After spinning his combination without a second thought, he grabbed two 24 ounce Double Shot coffees and closed the locker door with his hip. When he rejoined with Mikasa and Armin, he handed one off to the blonde and kept the other for himself, knowing that there was a definite chance he would end up sharing the drink with his sister. 

“So, how much hell did you have to go through to get the freshmeat to shut up and listen tonight?” Eren asked, popping the can open and lifting it to his lips for a drink.    
“Are you kidding me?” Mikasa replied with a soft laugh. “Unlike you two pansies, I actually have some authority.” She reached for the can as soon as Eren had put it down.

  “I don’t see how you do it.” Eren sighed painfully. His head was _still_ aching from the chatter on the field. “I think that the trombone section just has a collection of really stupid kids. The clarinets on the other hand, they’re more mature.”  

“Yeah, and that’s because _I’m_ section leader. They wouldn’t be that way if someone like Jean was leading them.”  

Jean was a trumpet player. In Eren’s mind, he was the most obnoxious of all the students, regardless of what section they were in. Jean was too confident, and he didn’t even play all that well. That, and he was constantly flirting with Mikasa.  

Eren agreed to the clarinetist’s statement with a simple shrug and a nod before turning over to Armin with a smirk. “Hey, maybe we should start leading like Mikasa does. We can wear tank-tops and cropped shirts to every rehearsal to show off our _ripped_ muscles to intimidate the freshmen.” Mikasa scowled at the brunette before clicking her tongue and lifting the can of coffee back up to her lips for another drink. Armin simply laughed nervously in response. He was always careful of his words, unlike Eren who spoke whatever came to mind the moment it surfaced.   After receiving a courtesy laugh from his friend, Eren leaned back against his chair and released yet another deep sigh, this time one that seemed to be in thought. 

“But seriously... I think this is the worst group we’ve had since we started here.” Sadly, both Mikasa and Armin were forced to nod in agreement.  

“It’s like... Everything goes in one ear and straight out the other.” Mikasa added as she handed the can back to Eren. “I highly doubt we’ll win anything at competition this year.”

  In previous years, the marching band of Shinganshima High School had been awarded with titles such as Best Music, Best Marching, Best General Effect, Best Color Guard and even Sweepstakes multiple times before. To say that they would have a season without a single award, although it may have been true, was almost too drastic to believe.   

“Well, maybe the freshmen will surprise us!” Armin finally pipped in, setting his coffee can aside on the lunch room table. “I mean, it’s only the first day, who knows how they’ll be by the time competition comes?”

  Just as Eren had parted his lips to reply to Armin’s uplifting statement, a loud whistle echoed throughout the halls of the commons. The brunette jumped at the sound before cursing under his breath. The damn drum major always caught him off guard. It was apparent he had done so to the rest of the band, too, as the groaned in pain from the shrill sound, completely defeating the purpose of the whistle in the first place.  

 

At the center of the lunchroom, Erwin Smith was standing raising his right hand for all to see, the whistle immediately falling from his lips, his left hand guiding it back down to rest against his chest.   “Everyone, the twenty-five minute break is over!” He announced, his voice filling up the commons completely. At this point, everyone had fallen silent. “You all have exactly eight minutes to make your way down to the field. When you arrive, we will be forming into the position in chart seven. If you are unsure of your position on the field, ask your section leader or an upperclassmen. Do not stand around and waste time!”

  With that, Erwin had turned on his heel and made his way toward the exit of the commons with a few others following behind. After he had gone, the rest of the students began to make their way outside, too.   Eren had talked with Erwin many times outside of band. He had even shared a couple classes with him throughout the years. Even though he did seem incredibly strict, it was only because he had such a high position to uphold. He was very serious about setting a good example and helping lead the band to victory. In real life, he was actually very kind and down to earth.   Most of the freshmen and sophomores would agree that he was intimidating, but the upperclassmen all looked up to him and admired him. He was definitely one of the guys on campus that everyone knew, even though he was in band. Erwin Smith was the type of person Eren always wished he could be.  
 

Finally, the time was eight thirty-five.  There was only twenty-five minutes until Eren could finally get his ass out of the pouring rain and back into his car where he would eventually be brought back home to a wonderfully warm shower. But until then, he had to make his way through the rest of rehearsal, kicking and screaming internally.  They had eventually reached the last chart of the first song in their show; chart twenty four. Again, the formation was nothing really that anyone could particularly make out, and the freshmen insisted on discussing it regardless of how many times Erwin told them to stop talking over the band director.

  While Eren slowly dragged his feet over to the thirty-five yard line, he was suddenly stopped in his tracks. He nearly bumped into the other guy, too. After looking down, he was greeted with a terribly unpleasant face that belonged to no other than Levi, the color guard captain. Before he could even part his lips to ask just why he was preventing him from getting to his spot on the field, Levi interrupted with a few words of his own.    

“Moving from chart twenty-three to chart twenty-four, I have to march in between you and whoever-the-hell-you-stand-next-to.” He sighed, placing a hand on his left hip while his right seemed to tighten around his flag pole.   

 _Armin._ Eren answered internally. _The person who stands next to me is Armin._

It was as if Levi could hear what Eren was thinking when his brow furrowed in irritation. “You don’t have to worry about me hitting you with my flag, or any of that bullshit that runs through your stupid head. I know what I’m doing-- just stay out of my way and everything will be fine.”

  Eren wanted to speak up. But before he could even blink, Levi had turned on his heel and he was gone. Eren was left confused, his eyes narrowed and the center of his forehead wrinkled in a deep thought. Who was Levi to think that he was better than him? They were both seniors, they had both been doing field show for the same amount of time. Eren could feel his fists clench in anger, and before he could stomp after Levi to chew him out, he was stopped by a hand on his shoulder.  

“I know what you’re thinking,” it was Armin’s voice. “But you can’t do that. Practice is almost over so let’s just try to get through it, okay?”

Thank God for Armin. Without him, there’s no telling how many times Eren would have been sent to detention or suspended from school because of stupid fist fights.

  Eren nodded and released a heavy sigh. He rolled back his shoulders, managing to crack his back in the process. It was a ritual of his that he did whenever he felt tense. Armin gave him a gentle pat on the back before the two made their way to their spots together.   Once they had arrived at the thirty-five, Armin just off of the yard line, the blonde trombonist turned toward his friend like he had something to say. Eren could see that hidden within his bright blue eyes was a tinge of worry. The way he folded his arms behind his back, his trombone touching the turf of the field, his eyes lowered to stare at his shoes, Eren knew that there was something wrong.

  Before he could even ask what was on his mind, Armin abruptly lifted his head. “Eren, remember what you said before we came out today, about gay people...?” He began hesitantly.  

“Yeah... Why are you bringing that up again? If it’s because of Levi, then that’s not--”  

“No, that’s not what I’m trying to get at.” Armin quickly cut in. His cheeks were beginning to flush with a deep, rosy red, most likely from embarrassment. “I-I... I didn’t want to say this, but what you said has been bugging me all night and I can’t hold it in anymore!”   The sudden sharp tone of Armin’s voice forced Eren to physically take a step back and prepare himself for what was to come.

“God, what is it? You’re seriously freaking me out...” Eren mumbled.  “Eren, can you just listen to me for a moment?!” Armin shouted, just loud enough to catch the attention of a few other trombonists nearby. Eren had fallen silent at this, biting the inside of his cheek as he braced himself. Watching Armin’s lips part after he had turned his head to the side, hiding himself, felt like watching a movie in slow motion.  “Eren... I don’t want you to hate me.” Armin began, his voice not daring to reach above a whisper.   How could Eren ever hate his best friend? They had been through so much together. The brunette’s heart was racing as he thought of the things that Armin could have said. 

Maybe he had revealed one of their secrets to the entire band, or even worse, maybe he had accidentally broken something last time he was over at his house and went without telling him. But what Armin had actually said next, it was something that Eren never imagined him hearing from his best friend’s lips. It was something that absolutely terrified him to no end, and made him question their friendship entirely from the very beginning. Those words that Armin spoke left Eren speechless.

  “I... I’m gay.” 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm so excited to write another chapter. Honestly, I'm so in love with this fic. I have so many ideas and I'm really happy you guys are enjoying it so far! 
> 
> In other news, I decided to start up a tag on Tumblr for this fic! I want to be able to see what you guys are thinking. If you're interested, the tag is called fic: spinning the flags of freedom. Also, don't forget to follow me on Tumblr if you want updates on chapters and my ideas! My url is yeageringintensified.


	3. Watch out!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After Armin reveals a secret that Eren wasn't expecting, the atmosphere on the field changes for the worse. Eren's mind is racing and he can't seem to focus enough to even walk a straight path without running into someone. Just who he runs into could determine whether or not he leaves rehearsal with or without a limp in his stride. How can he make up for ruining a precious flag that belongs to the color guard?

Stunned eyelashes batted against apples of cheeks. Had his ears been fooling him? Was Armin really... Gay? 

Eren shook his head in disbelief, a quiet laughter emitting from a set of nervously smiling lips. "A-are you serious?" He breathed lowly. "Armin, you're joking right?" 

He didn't want to sound rude. Eren never-- well, rarely said things that were rude on purpose. He just had a problem controlling the words that escaped his mouth. It was like his lips moved faster than his mind. So naturally, the brunette was surprised to find that Armin's expression grew rather offended at his remark. 

What kind of a friend would hold something as important as this back for such a long time? Eren was just as offended as Armin for finding out that his friend seemed to have little trust in him. Although it was true that the trombonist proved to be rather intolerant of homosexuals in the past, when it came to his friends, Armin should have known he would support them no matter what.

"Yes, I'm serious, Eren!" Armin whispered sharply. "Why would I be joking about something like this?"

Eren turned his head to the side, adverting his gaze from his old friend's bright blue eyes. The blondie looked as if he were about to start crying out there on the field. Eren parted his lips to speak, but when he attempted to form words, sound refused to emit. Another deep breath through his nostrils and out his mouth. Eren cleared his throat and was finally able to speak.

"Armin, I..." He breathed. Eren lifted a hand to scratch the back of his head. What could he say? His friend was finally coming out. Now that he thought about it, there had been a few warning signs in the past that he didn't notice until that very moment. Armin had always had a fascination with male actors. Eren had even caught him checking out a few boys within the band more than once, but he always played it off as some kind of joke.

It clearly wasn't a joke anymore.

"I don't think now is a good time to talk about this." Eren continued slowly. His head tilted upward, noting that drum major Erwin was taking his place back on the podium to direct the band to their next order. "Find me after rehearsal, and we can talk about this. We can go get a shake with Mikasa, or something."

Before Armin could voice his disagreement with Eren's suggestion, the brunette had turned on his left heel and stormed off back to his position on the field, an odd ten or so yards away from his blonde friend. Armin was left with a feeling of regret. He felt like his stomach was about to drop out of his ass. Now he was starting to believe that he should have just kept his secret a little longer. The blue eyed boy lifted a hand to his lips, pressing one finger between his teeth to chew on his nail. He hoped that no one around was looking. Although it was a disgusting habit of his, it was the only way Armin could hold back his defeated tears. Seeing his best friend physically walk away from such a pressing issue, one that Armin didn't even know what to think of himself, was one of the most difficult things he had ever experienced.

He should have known that Eren wasn't ready for this.

The rest of rehearsal seemed to fly by, much to the marching band's surprise. The rain had even finally let up by the time they finished their last chart. It was truly a gift from the Band Gods above. The band director gave his usual speech by the time nine o'clock rolled around, stating that all students in Jazz Band should report promptly at 5:30 AM for zero period, and that the color guard had rehearsal from 5:00 PM to 6:30 PM the following evening. It was all silly details that Eren had been accustomed to tuning out. 

Once the band director was finished with his speech, finally thanking the students for their hard work and dedication, Erwin called the band to attention with a single tweet of his powerful whistle. There was a fifteen minute silence, his piercing blue eyes scanning the band until all movements had seized. Only then was the band dismissed and students went running in all directions off the field. 

Eren had always been one of the guys that exited to the band room as quickly as possible. Once all the other band students piled in there, it became a crowded, stinky mess that the trombonist wanted no part in. So, he always did his best to put away his trombone in his case in a speedy fashion. He didn't bother to approach Mikasa, especially not Armin, before he made his way to the band room. Like usual, he was one of the first students in, and found a roomy spot for his instrument. He grabbed the keys to the Forrester off of Mikasa's music stand on his way out of the room. Surely Armin would find Mikasa soon, and the two of them would meet Eren at the car like every other rehearsal night.

On his way down the hall, Eren pulled his flip phone out of his pocket to check his messages. Not surprisingly, there was a couple waiting for him from Connie. Of course, he was bitching about how he ditched him during a dungeon run on WoW. Eren simply shook his head at the message as a low chuckle escaped his lips.

But what Eren wasn't expecting was to collide with another body on his way out to the car. As soon as he came in contact with another body, the brunette quickly stepped backward, his widened emerald irises searching for the face he had rammed into. 

There, on the floor, was none other than the color guard captain that Eren had shared a few-- actually, he hadn't shared any words with him at all. Levi was the one who had done all the talking. Now, the raven was the one who was giving Eren a frightening death glare that caused the brunette to shiver in fear. His eyes hadn't even noticed the piles of silk surrounded by his form until Levi moved to scoop them off of the dirty floor.

_Oh god..._

Eren began to lower his upper half, moving to help gather up the flags that had spilled from Levi's hands and onto the floor when they had collided. But Eren's eyes scanned the bright colored silks, soon finding that, dear God, there was a massive hole in the first one that his hands had reached for. 

Eren could feel his heart stop beneath his chest for a split second. He inhaled a sharp breath, causing Levi to lift his head with a furrowed brow.

"What the hell are you gasping for?" He hissed. "First you run into me like an idiot, now you don't even have the decency to help me pick up the mess you made?"

Eren tried to speak, but only a series of breathy pants escaped his lips. Levi simply rolled his eyes and snatched the flag from the band member's hands. His eyes ran over the silky material as he folded it into sections. However, his hands stopped immediately once his narrowed ashy hues spotted the tear.

"...This hole wasn't here before." He whispered, his voice sharp as daggers. Eren jolted at his observation. Levi finally collected himself off of the floor, not minding the rest of the flags that lay in his place. He stalked forward, reaching up and gathering a handful of the brunette's shirt to forcefully pull him down to his level. "You did this, didn't you? You must have stepped on it when you fuckin' ran into me."

Eren could only gulp at Levi's observation. He was absolutely right. A set of hesitant eyes slowly dropped, and much to his horror, Eren found a chunk of the flag's silk right underneath his sneaker. 

_Oh God, oh God--!_

Levi tapped his foot against the floor irritably. If it wasn't for the other silks within his arms, Eren was sure he would have crossed his arms over his chest. The raven's brow seemed to furrow more, his eyes narrowing until they were nearly closed. Eren could _feel_ the anger radiating off of the captain before him.

"I-I'm so sorry," Eren mumbled. "I didn't even realize--"

"I fucking know you didn't realize." Levi scoffed. "Why else would you have run into me? Do you have any idea how expensive these silks are, Yeager?"

Was it getting hot, or was it just Eren? The brunette felt the back of his neck grow slick with a nervous sweat. He felt like his entire body was lighting up in flames.

"Look, I really need to get going." Eren piped up. He was rather bold to be ignoring Levi's questioning. The shock was apparent in the color guard member's eyes for only a split second before his expression returned back to it's glaring nature. "I'll make this up to you somehow, okay? We can talk about it tomorrow night at rehearsal."

With some great amount of strength, Eren was able to wiggle free of Levi's surprisingly strong grasp. It must have been all of the spinning he did that built up his arm muscles. Surprisingly, Levi didn't fight back. The color guard captain simply sighed beneath his breath, mumbling a few curse words toward the trombonist and continued to pick up the flags that were sprawled across the floor.

From that point on, Eren didn't look back. There was no way he would after actually being let out of that shitstorm without a real fight. His feet carried him faster than he could ever remember, without changing his gait to a run, that is. Eren speed walked out to his car and didn't once look over his shoulder the entire time to see if Levi was stalking after him. 

Once he _finally_ reached the Forrester, Eren quickly unlocked the driver's door and allowed himself inside. He inserted the key in the ignition and allowed the car to roar to life only so that he could let himself be engulfed in the warmth that the de-frost provided. The car hummed a peaceful lullaby as the boy awaited for his friend's arrival. He reached over to turn up the dial on the radio, Mr. Maker by The Kooks provided a sound that he could bob his head along to. 

Just as the song had come to itss end, Eren was greeted by a rap of Mikasa's fist on the passenger's door. Not surprisingly, Armin was standing with her. After she opened the door and allowed herself in the car, Eren got a chance to take a look at Armin's face. His eyes were red, his water line puffing out as if to suggest he had been crying. Eren was sure that it was his fault. Armin sniffled a little as he allowed himself into the backseat. 

"You promised we'd go get milkshakes and talk about this." Mikasa began, her voice in its usual serious tone. It was clear that Armin had revealed his secret to her as well.

Eren replied with a simple nod before fastening his seatbelt over his torso and reaching down to put the car into reverse to pull out of the parking lot. 

The drive down to the family-owned diner the trio usually visited after rehearsal was a silent one. Only the occasional heaving of Armin's post-crying breath could be heard from the back over the gentle pulsing of the radio. Once Eren pulled into the dimly lit parking lot of the diner, the three all unbuckled and took their time exiting the car. Eren made sure to lock the vehicle before shoving the keys into the pocket of his letterman. 

Upon entering, there was a gentle ring of a bell above the door, signaling an entrance of a customer. The cheery hostess greeted them with a bright smile and they were seated at their usual booth. By now, all of the employees had known the three of them by their first names. They were regulars. No one even bothered to ask them for their orders. It was a strawberry shake for Armin, a hot fudge shake for Mikasa, and a sundae for Eren. After their usual treats were brought out by their favorite waitress, one with bright red hair that liked to talk about her tattoos, the three thanked her for the food and quietly began to dig in.

Eren was the first to speak up after a few bites of his ice cream, that much to his dismay, didn't really taste all that great. It must have been everything on his mind that was taking away from the flavor.

"Armin..." He began, leaning back against the glittering red leather of the booth seat behind his back. "I'm sorry--" Armin didn't need to know why he was apologizing. "I just... I don't have a problem with your sexuality." It was only a white lie. "Although it's a little freaky to think about, I'm your friend, and I'm gonna support you no matter what."

Armin refused to lift his head. He continued to run his fingers along the glass of his shake, chewing on the outer corner of his lower lip. 

"It's okay," Eren insisted, his voice as sincere as it could possibly get for a teenage boy. "I don't want you to feel like you can't tell me shit like this. We've been friends since grade school, for christ's sake." He laughed nervously as he leaned forward to rest his elbows against the table top. "Plus, I'd be lying if I said it wasn't already a little apparent."

Armin's head shot up at this, revealing a set of eyes that had widened with horror. "Eren--!" He shouted, his cheeks growing pinkish with embarrassment. "Are you serious?!"

"Well, I mean, yeah!" Eren replied, a true chuckle escaping his lips at his friend's innocent reaction. "I've caught you checking out Erwin's ass multiple times before. Don't get me wrong-- I know he's a dashing man and all, but the looks you give him..."

Armin buried his head within his arms on top of the table with a groan. 

"It's true..." Mikasa pitched in, forming the words around the straw of her milkshake. "I've seen it, too."

After the three friends had finished their desserts, all was forgiven. Eren payed for each item to prove a point-- he was a good guy and he didn't want his friend to hate him. How else can you win a friend's love? Buying them milkshakes. This time, the car ride to drop off Armin was filled with shared laughter as the three talked on and on about all the stupid things they had witnessed on the field that night. Everything seemed to be peaceful for once. After such a hellish night, it was nice to feel like Eren had nothing to worry about.

It wasn't until the brunette had finally reached the inside of his home, slipped off his shoes, stalked upstairs to the bathroom and began to peel of his clothes for a shower that he remembered his promise to Levi.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A plot starts to develop????
> 
> I'm terribly sorry about the delay on this chapter update. I've been really busy with school, surprisingly. I was really caught off guard and now I'm having a little bit of trouble balancing all of my activities. But nonetheless, this fic is really easy for me to write because I have so much fun with it. I was finally able to sit down and bust this chapter out! I really hope you guys like it. 
> 
> As always, please continue to post things in the tag for this fic, fic:spinning the flags of freedom, on Tumblr! I'd love to see what you guys have to say.


	4. It's Just One Season

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi approaches Eren with a solution to their problem and Eren is left wondering how he'll make it through the winter without at least one of his bones.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long wait for this update. I've been super busy with color guard and my new workload at college. At the same time, I've been having a huge writer's block. This chapter has taken me longer to write than any other work I can remember, including essays for class. 
> 
> Either way, I hope you enjoy this chapter! I'm excited to continue the story now that a plot point is revealed. I have a lot planned.
> 
> Make sure to follow me on Tumblr for more updates!  
> URL: p-jean.tumblr.com
> 
> Also, don't forget that I'm tracking the tag fic:spinning the flags of freedom! I really would love to see what you guys think about this fic, so feel free to post about it and use the tag!

Time had seemed to fly by at an incredible speed since that horrible, soaking wet night on the field. It had been at least two weeks. Eren hadn't forgotten about his promise to the color guard captain, that was for sure. No, he just decided to avoid Levi entirely. He didn't have any classes with the guy, that was a relief. When rehearsal Mondays and Wednesdays rolled around, the brunette made sure to keep a safe distance from the intimidating captain.   Every once in a while, he would look across the field and find Levi staring right back at him. Of course, his expression was always less than pleasant. His eyes clearly showed that he hadn't forgotten about their little unannounced deal just like Eren hadn’t.   Each night when the clock, invisible to the students on the field, struck nine, Eren made sure that he was the first one off of the field. He didn’t mind what the other students thought of him as he ran full-speed off of the field. Besides, he had enough episodes at rehearsal due to his short temper that he was sure that he already had a strange reputation. Thankfully enough, he hadn’t been bothered by anyone about it yet.  That is, until the night of October second.

Another unpleasant rehearsal night had come to a close. The band and color guard had finally finished learning the last chart in their second piece of their show. It had taken them a shocking four rehearsal’s worth of time to finish the damn drill. Eren had been in a particularly good mood now that the worst of the drill was over. At this point, he had _almost_ forgotten about his agreement with Levi. For the time being, the idea was completely wiped from his brain. All he could think about was how proud he was of his section for finally getting the hang of that last drill sequence that had been causing them so much trouble.  Instead of his usual fast-paced gait off the field, Eren slipped his nearly frozen hands into the pockets of his worn out jeans and decided to walk at a pleasantly casual speed. It was just the right pace where he could have held a nice conversation with the person next to him, if that person hadn’t have been Jean Kirschtein. Eren refrained from talking to that asshole at all costs. As he walked next to the guy, he could practically _feel_ his judgmental eyes casting their bitter gaze upon him. With a low snicker, the brunette tilted his chin up with pride and extended his gait, just enough pass the trumpet player by a few steps. The mixture of disgust and disbelief that left Jean’s lips was enough to lift Eren’s lips up to a half-smirk of fulfillment. After so many years of watching the Jean flirt helplessly with his uninterested sister, he felt like it was only his job to piss Jean off. He did it well.

Eren was feeling so confident with his childish advancement that he even dared to look over his shoulder with his wild smirk and arched brow. But as his eyes registered, they soon grew wide. Jean Kirschtein was gone. Eren looked to his left, his right, even in front of him but the twerp was no where to be found. Eren scoffed, half in disgust, and directed his attention back to the path in front of him. He was sure that Jean had moved on from their little game and off to irritate the hell out of some other poor soul. Not footsteps after he had realized Jean had disappeared, Eren’s attention had been re-directed yet again as he felt a finger against his shoulder. The brunette quickly whirled around with a set of fearful eyes at the feeling. He was half-expecting Jean to be behind him, wearing that stupid smirk of his. Instead, Eren was shocked to find Levi staring up at him with his usual disgusted expression. In his arms were a trio of flags that were at least 12 inches taller than him. It was a wonder how he was able to keep them all in his grasp without stepping on their silks. Eren was about to part his lips to question Levi’s presence when he was interrupted by the raven’s own irritated voice.

“Hey. I figured out a way you could pay me back after ruining one of my flags,” he began, his narrowed hues straying from Eren’s face to stare at the equally uninteresting ground beneath his feet.

Eren swallowed at a fearful lump that had formed at the back of his throat. Even though he knew that he would have to be confronted by Levi eventually, tonight really wasn’t his preferred night. He much rather have run into him on a day like Tuesday, or Thursday, even, when he didn’t have to endure three hours of rehearsal. Either way, he collected a deep breath and attempted to calm his panicked expression. “Y-yeah?” He breathed. “What did you come up with?”

Levi refrained from rolling his eyes at the brunette’s pointless question. He thought the answer was completely obvious. “I want you to join the color guard for our winter season.” The way that his voice was so monotoned was enough to cause Eren to choke on a half-inhaled breath of air.

“Wh-what are you talking about?!” He nearly shouted. He could already feel his head begin to ache from stress. “I can’t just join color guard--! I’m in the band!”

If Levi’s eyes could have become any mored narrowed, they most definitely would have after hearing Eren’s incredibly stupid comeback. 

“ _What exactly_ does the band do during the winter season, Yeager?” Levi sighed. “Hm?”

Eren slipped his hands out of his pockets, moving his trombone off of his arm and fidgeting with it nervously. Levi was right. Winter was practically an off-season for the band. There were no rehearsals, only in-class time preparing for their winter-themed concert. The brunette simply lowered his head after realizing this, a defeated sigh escaping his lips. He had no other excuses. He didn’t have a job. He didn’t spend that much time with friends, even.

“That’s right.” Levi whispered rather harshly. “The color guard doesn’t have very many members. We want to win competition this year and we can’t do that if we don’t even have enough members to compete. Joining for _one_ season is the least you could do after destroying one of my silks.”

Eren knew he was right. Giving him the money to replace the flag would simply be too easy. If he refused this punishment, he knew that he would only be given a more severe one. Although Eren was entirely uncomfortable with the idea of joining the color guard, he couldn’t help but feel just a little bad for the captain. Not having enough members to even compete must have been completely embarrassing, considering Levi was such a strong-willed man.   
So, the only thing he _could_ do was nod his head, shrug his shoulders and hope for the best, despite the fact that his lower half was absolutely quivering with fear. He knew Levi could sense that fear based on the smirk that threatened to cross his stupidly thin lips. Eren hated that look more than anything else. His incredibly thin eyes that were sharp like daggers, his voice that cut right through him like a knife, and most of all, his body language that would intimidate even their power-hungry drum major. He hated all of it.

“Our first practice starts after competition.” Levi added casually as he adjusted the flags in his arms that nearly slipped out from his seemingly strong grip. Eren was sure that even from just one simple glance that those sculpted arms, the muscles that constricted beneath skin with the slightest of movements, could provide more damage than any other set of limbs in the entire school of Shinganshima High. “Five o’clock. I advise you to get there on time.”

Eren forcibly bit the inner layer of his cheek to keep himself from uttering some kind of animalistic sound at the man before him. He had the nerve to talk to him like he was some kind of grunt after one simple incident. It absolutely disgusted him. But as his eyes traveled away from Levi’s unpleasant face, Eren’s irises focused on the bundle of flags situated in the raven’s hold.

“Wait, what about the equip--”

“You think I’d let you handle these without supervision?” Levi scoffed, using his chin to gesture down at the flags. “There will be equipment in the gym tomorrow night waiting for everyone. If you’re coordinated enough to spin without ripping another silk in half, I _might_ think about letting you take home a practice flag.”

Eren had so much to say. What would he be telling his band director-- his section? They would suffer without him. Armin sure as hell couldn’t lead the freshmen by himself. Would people miss him after he left? What a stupid question. It was only a couple months. Eren knew that the only people that would even notice his absence were Mikasa and Armin. 

How many nights a week did the color guard rehearse anyway? Eren couldn’t commit to anything more than two nights a week, honestly. How would he even learn how to spin a flag? From what he saw the color guard do on the field, it looked incredibly difficult. What about the dance? Eren definitely wasn’t a dancer. He was going to embarrass the hell out of himself.  
He had so many questions to ask Levi, and apparently, there was never enough time. Again, as soon as he parted his lips to voice one of these many questions, the captain had turned on his heel and stormed off. Almost instantly, Eren snapped his lips shut. His brow furrowed in irritation. Could he ever have a normal conversation with this guy?

Eren only decided to pick up his feet once again after Levi had left his line of vision. For a short guy, Levi’s legs could carry him at a pretty high speed apparently.

Eren’s hands found their solace back in the warmth that his denim pockets provided. His trombone hung carelessly on his arm between two poles of metal. As he treaded on to the band room, a puff of visible air escaped his parted lips with each exhale. 

His head hurt, and it wasn’t just because of the cold weather. His mind was racing with frightening images of himself, attempting to dance with little success. He could already feel his calves aching in anticipating for the long hours of training he was sure a masochist like Levi would put him through.

Just as his teeth began to clatter against one another from the cold temperature, Eren heard his name being called from behind. He instantly whirled around, wearing an unintentionally aggravated expression from simply being interrupted so many times in one night. But as his eyes registered a familiar set of bright blue eyes matched with a frightened expression, Eren’s face almost instantly softened.  “Hey, Armin.” He sighed weakly. Squinting, the brunette was able to register another face close behind his friend. Of course, it was Mikasa. “Oh, and Mikasa.” Eren added beneath his breath. He really wasn’t in the mood for entertaining anyone. All the boy wanted was to be in his room, underneath the warmth that his tattered covers provided with a good movie playing on the small television that he was blessed to have mounted on the wall opposite of his bed.

“What’s got you down?” It was Mikasa’s voice this time that greeted the trombonist before he turned his head back to a forward facing position.

“It’s a long story.” 

The car was warm, but not nearly as warm as Eren’s bed. Sitting in the front seat with the heater blasting in his face was, though, enough to allow his tense body to finally relax. Mikasa was driving home that night, and Armin, as usual, was sitting in the back with his chin resting on the shoulder of the passenger’s seat.

“So, about that story...” The blonde trombonist began with a note of encouragement in his voice.

“Yeah,” Mikasa agreed. As she lowered her hand to release the parking break, her dark eyes scanned the rear view mirror to make sure she was clear to back out of the stall. “You said it was a long one, right? The drive home is gonna be pretty long. There’s a ton of black ice on the road so we won’t be having another _Fast and Furious_ episode tonight.”

Eren simply crossed his arms over his chest and moved his head to roll backward against his cushioned seat. He chewed on his lower lip, a nervous habit of his he had acquired over time. Did he really have to talk about it? There wasn’t much to say, even. Levi told him an order, and that was that. Eren hardly understood the concept of color guard. All he knew was that he didn’t want to be in the same room as Levi for more than an hour. 

A rough sigh escaped his lips as a hand reached up to run through his tousled locks. He tugged on those milk-chocolate locks while his teeth nibbled on the inner layer of his cheek. Eren’s eyes scanned nervously between Mikasa and Armin’s face, twice, three times, even four times before he finally gave in with a sigh. The pressure of being stared down by Mikasa’s piercing grey hues, narrowed in absolute irritation, was enough to convince Eren that he indeed had to tell the story that he was so hesitant to share. 

“Alright, fine...” Eren groaned. “I’ll start from the beginning. A while ago... Maybe a few weeks ago? I don’t really remember-- Anyway, I accidentally ran into Levi when I was on my way back to the band room to put my trombone away after rehearsal.”

The reactions that Eren received from the others in the car were polar opposites. Armin’s body tensed, his brow creasing in worry. He inched forward in his seat while his hands clutched anxiously against the seat in front of him. Mikasa on the other hand, immediately turned her head away from Eren and returned her eyes to the traffic light they had been stopped at. It was as if she had completely lost interest in his story at the simple mention of Levi’s name.

Mikasa had always had something against Levi, but Eren was never really sure why. There was always the fact that he acted like a complete asshole to nearly every person he came in contact with, but the look of hatred that Mikasa developed in her eyes whenever Levi was even brought up in casual conversation had to have been caused from something more than a poor attitude.

Clearing his throat, Eren decided to continue on even though he could practically feel the horrible aura emitting from his sister. “He’s so goddamn short I couldn’t have seen him anyway if I was paying attention...” The comment earned a little snort from the blonde in the backseat. “So I bump into the guy, and he falls down and I end up stepping on his flag thing. He called it something weird... A silk, I think? Yeah, I stepped on it and it ripped. It was a small rip, but of course, the perfectionist freaked out.

He gave me this awful look, worse than his usual, and I knew I had to get out of there fast. So I told him I would make it up to him-- I would do whatever he told me to do. Then I left. So as you can imagine, these past few weeks have been really awkward especially since we pass by each other all the time in drill.” Armin nodded empathetically. Mikasa only tightened her pale hands on the steering wheel.  
“Well tonight, he stopped me and told me that he wanted me to join the color guard as punishment.” After reaching the climax of his story, the car seemed more silent than it already had been. Eren could practically hear the blood rushing through his veins over the dull roar of the car’s engine as Mikasa pressed her foot harder against the accelerator. 

“Wait, are you being serious?” Armin breathed through a gust of nervous laughter. “You can’t join the color guard-- you’re in the band!”

“That’s what I said.” Eren replied with a half-hearted shrug. “But what else can I do? If I disagree he’ll probably beat me or something. I don’t want to mess with a guy like that. He’s scary enough just by looking at his face. Have you ever looked at his arms, Armin? He’s fucking ripped.”

Armin could only blink at such a statement. He had never taken the time to look closely enough at the color guard captain to note his apparently bulging arm muscles. “What are you going to do, Eren? You can’t even do a summersault-- how are you going to survive color guard?”

“It’s just one season.” Eren sighed. “Just for the winter.”

“Winter is the most intense season.” Mikasa whispered through the short silence. “Winterguard.”

“What the _hell_ is a winterguard?” And more importantly, how did she know about it?

“Levi will tell you.” She responded with a venomous tone.

Eren simply arched a brow at his sister before he turned to fixate his eyes on the passing scenery out the window. “Yeah, well, either way I guess I’m joining the color guard.”

“Maybe it won’t be so bad,” Armin voiced from the back, his voice breaking as the Forrester bounced over a bump in the road. “There are some pretty nice people on the guard. You know, Petra, Eld, Gunther and Oluo are all on the team. They’re pretty nice people.”

“I’ve never talked to any of them.”

“Me either.” Armin admitted with a soft laugh. “What I meant was they _look_ like nice people.”

The rest of the car ride home was in silence. Eren was left wondering what winterguard was and why it apparently was so intense. Dancing couldn’t be that hard, right? Mikasa’s grip never loosened from the steering wheel, and Armin preoccupied himself with an old issue of Vogue that he had found in the sleeve pocket located behind the passenger’s seat. After they dropped the blue-eyed blonde off at his house and said their goodbyes, the atmosphere became uncomfortable without the innocent sound of pages turning from the backseat. Eren was shifting in his seat nearly every eight minutes until they finally pulled into the drive of their welcomely lit home.   Once inside, Mikasa immediately made her way upstairs and into her bedroom without a word. Eren was conflicted-- he didn’t know whether to fulfill his desire of crawling into his bed or to knock on Mikasa’s door to try and talk to her about why she had been so tense in the car.

After looking at the clock, he decided to go with the easier option of the two and quietly venture up to his room to slip into the embracing warmth that his bed provided.


	5. Inexperienced

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After a long field show season, Eren must prepare for his life as a member of Levi's fearless color guard. At his first night of rehearsal, he isn't sure what to expect. Being late wasn't exactly the best impression he was hoping to make. But it was only three minutes-- that shouldn't make a difference, right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, it sure has been a long time since I updated here... I have to apologize. As usual, my life has been incredibly busy. But the good news is that I just finished my first quarter of college! Winter break starts now, and that means more time for chapter updates. I hope to start publishing more frequently, I think I need to set an exact date of updates. I'll get back to you all on that one once I figure it out. Anyway, I did my best to make a longer chapter to make up for my lack of updates. I hope you are all satisfied with my work.
> 
> I had a hard time describing the exercises Levi was teaching Eren in this chapter. I apologize! It was hard for me to imagine myself doing the work because I wrote most of this chapter on a plane to Disney World for a band trip. So, I included a couple links here for a better understanding:
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W9n55fzO22A - for drop spins
> 
> http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fMZFuWv5jps - for the coning exercise (this one is a little different compared to the one I know)
> 
> Also, thank you so much for 1,000+ views! I'm extremely happy that my story has already received this many views and so much positive feedback. I hope you all continue to read my story and enjoy it!
> 
> As always, make sure to follow me on Tumblr. My URL is p-jean.tumblr.com. 
> 
> And don't forget to post in the fic:spinning the flags of freedom tag!

The rest of the field show season seemed to pass by at a fleeting pace. Practices no longer dragged on and the freshmen were finally starting to understand the concept of marching drill and playing music in unison. No longer did the students on the field look like robots with no purpose. The band students loved to perform, and it was clear by the sound they produced and the glimmer in their eyes. 

Toward the end, Eren found himself longing for the final competition of the year. All the other small trips they took around the area were nothing special. Even the band director was sure that they would win those. Of course, they always left the smaller competitions with the Sweepstakes award.

But, it was the final competition of the year, held on Veteran’s Day that all the students were sweating over. There were only three other groups in their division, but those groups were some of the top in the area. It seemed as if countless hours of rehearsal would be rewarded with nothing at all after the students gathered in the band room to watch clips of their competition on a site called YouTube. It was true that they had already won many awards throughout the season, but what was the point? 

If they couldn’t walk home from their final competition with the big Sweepstakes award one last time, the entire band would be dissatisfied. Especially Eren Yeager, the senior who had come to love playing his trombone again. 

Show day arrived all to quickly. The students boarded the busses at 6 o’clock sharp in their full uniform. Some were tired, and others were filled with energy. The band spent the day checking out their competition, watching other shows to see just what they were up against. Naturally, the Shinganshima High School Marching Band was the last to take the field. Of course, it had begun to rain when it was their chance to perform. But, such weather conditions surely didn’t stop the band as a whole from giving it their all.

It was their last closing piece that took the audience’s breath away. The horns blended beautifully, the drum line carried the band perfectly and the precise movements of the drill were spectacular. It was truly their best performance. 

There was one moment in particular in that last number where Eren was finally sure that they had a chance of winning. He had been skeptical up until that very moment, it was natural for him. It happened every year.

But as the trombonist moved to march his final sequence, heading straight for the fifty, exactly the middle of the field, Eren was able to witness a beautiful thing.

It was Levi, the color guard captain. He was the only color guard member up front in that moment, the rest of his team were behind the band. His flag work was amazing. The way the silk of his flag moved in perfect time with the music of the band was absolutely mesmerizing. The raindrops that cascaded down from above fell gracefully upon his ebony hair, causing a sort of sparkly sheen. His perfectly pale skin was glistening from a mixture of sweat and condensation. Matched with the beautiful smile on his lips and the look of absolute passion in his eyes, the sight was enough to cause Eren to nearly forget the music.

After their performance, the band was rewarded with a thunderous applause. Suddenly the awards didn’t seem so important as the shouts of encouragement coming from the stands. It seemed as if all of their hard work had truly paid off.

Retreat was surreal, especially for the seniors. It was the last time they would be standing with their peers at the big stadium on the football field. Some of the seniors, the girls especially, were teary eyed when the announcer finally reached Open Class division for the awards. Not because they were afraid, but because the realization of the event.

Surprisingly enough, the Shinganshima High School Marching Band blew away their competition. The final show performance earned a score of ninety-four out of one hundred overall. They won a majority of the caption awards including “Best Music,” “Best Drill,” “Best Marching,” and of course, “Best Color Guard.” Not only that, but the band had managed to win the Sweepstakes award. It was truly a miracle and the looks of absolute joy in each and every one of the band member’s eyes was well worth the effort put in throughout the season. Now that field show was finally over, what would the band members do?

Well, Eren knew exactly what will fill the void space in his schedule. 

On his way back to the bus that night after retreat, he was surprised to be stopped by Levi himself. It was strange seeing him now with his usual unpleasant expression. It was truly awful compared to the face that he wore while he was performing.

“You remember our deal, correct?” He breathed lowly, crossing his arms over his chest. He surely got straight to the point, now didn’t he?

Eren could only bite the inner layer of his cheek before shifting on his feet. Of course he remembered their deal. He had only been dreading their agreement every night since it had happened. So, he nodded.

Apparently such a reaction didn’t exactly satisfy the captain. It was apparent by the way his already creased brow seemed to furrow farther. Eren was tempted to warn Levi that if he scowled that much his face would be permanently tainted with ugly wrinkles. But, he decided to be civil and remain quiet.

“Perfect.” Levi replied with little enthusiasm. “Our first practice for the winter season is tomorrow night at 6 ‘clock. I advise you to arrive more around five so that I can at least try to teach you the basics.”

“W-wait—“ Eren breathed, his brow suddenly creasing with worry and his arms unfolding from his chest. “Tomorrow night? Are you serious? I don’t even get a break?!”

Levi only rolled his eyes in response. “There’s no time for a break, Yeager.” He sighed. “If we took a break then we would fall behind schedule.”

So there was already a schedule? Eren’s head was starting to ache.

After sucking on his lower lip, the brunette slipped his hands into the pockets of his oversized raincoat. What could he do? He had to show up or else Levi would surely kill him.

“…Alright, fine.” Eren gave in with a sigh. “I’ll meet you—wait, where are we even meeting?”

The look that Levi gave him actually offended the trombone player. His eyes practically said; “What are you, some kind of idiot?”

Regardless, it was Levi’s job as captain to entertain such stupid questions. “In the gym, you brat. Where else?”

“O—kay, in the gym then.” Eren huffed. “I’ll meet you in the gym at five.”

Levi at least seemed a little satisfied with his response. “Don’t be late.” He breathed before turning on his heel and heading toward the bus behind the one Eren should have boarded ten minutes ago.

Back on the bus, Eren was relieved to finally meet up with Mikasa and Armin. After the trio shared the excitement of winning Sweepstakes at their final show and a few especially great memories from the season, the brunette took a moment to update his friends on his situation with the color guard captain.

“So I’m going to color guard rehearsal tomorrow night, I guess.” He began coolly. Armin’s eyes seemed to light up with interest, meanwhile Mikasa immediately tensed at the subject. 

“That’s great!” Armin exclaimed, scooting closer to his friend to clasp an encouraging hand on his shoulder. Eren was quick to shake his head in response.

“I don’t know about that.” He huffed. “I don’t know anything about color guard and you both know that I’m not too coordinated.” 

“Levi will teach you.” Mikasa cut in. There was something about her harsh tone that stung.

“…Y-yeah,” Armin agreed hesitantly. “I’m sure he’ll be patient with you, right? Isn’t that his job as captain?”

Eren shifted anxiously. “I have no clue. He always seems irritated when he talks to me.” Brushing his fingers through his fringe, he leaned against the worn leather bus seat with a sigh. “I just hope that I don’t piss him off too much on my first day.”

“Well, he wanted you in for a reason, right?” The blonde offered cheerily. 

If only his friend had known the truth behind the desperate situation, then maybe he would reconsider his uplifting statement.

The day of Eren’s first practice, he couldn’t sit still. All of his classes seemed to drag on. Every minute felt like ten, every hour felt like twenty. He couldn’t stand it. When the final bell rang, he felt like clicking his heels with joy. But at the same time, he felt like pulling out his hair due to his crazy nerves that refused to calm. Never in his life had he felt so anxious and excited at the same time.

He drove the Forrester home with Mikasa after school to get something to eat and change out of his clothes. After seeing the work the color guard did during the fall season, Eren was more than sure that he would be needing something a little less constricting for practice. So, he opted to change into a loose band tee and a pair of shorts before he left the house again. He didn’t get the chance to say goodbye to Mikasa. She had locked herself in her bedroom with her stereo blasting.

When the trombonist finally arrived back at his high school, making his way slowly into the main gym, he was not surprised to find Levi waiting for him with a bag of equipment on the floor near his feet. His expression worried Eren. The way Levi stood with his hand on his hip and his eyes especially narrowed caused the brunette’s heart to race and his palms to become sweaty.

“Five o’clock passed three minutes ago.” Levi began, reaching down to take one of the flags from the flag bag below and holding it tight against his side. “Didn’t I ask you to arrive on time?”

Well, shit. Eren had been caught red handed. He hadn’t even realized that he had arrived late. He had to come up with a quick excuse.

“There was, um… Traffic.”

Such a response earned a scoff from the captain. That was the end of the discussion, so it seemed, because after that Levi reached down to hand Eren a practice flag of his own.

The white paint of the pole was beginning to chip. The grey silk of the flag was slightly tattered, but there were no signs of any sort of stain. Eren was sure that Levi was the one who cleaned the silks, even if they were just for practice.

Holding a flag for the first time was strange. There were similarities in comparison to his trombone, however. The pole was cold, and heavy, much like his instrument. The only problem was that Eren had no idea what to do with the flag now that it was in his hands.

Levi chuckled softly as he passed by the trombonist, moving to stand directly in front of him as he brought his flag up. He held with one hand just below the silk, the other at the end of the pole near his abdomen.

“This is the most basic thing I can teach you.” Levi began, automatically raising his voice as he quickly entered his “captain-mode.” 

“It’s called right shoulder at arms.” He continued. Levi turned around, just to make sure that Eren could see his hand positioning. Thankfully, the brunette was bright enough to mimic his hands and lift the pole to the appropriate height.

“Good.” Was all that Eren was rewarded with for now. After all, that was only the beginning.

“Now, I’m going to teach you how to do a drop spin.” 

Eren didn’t like the sound of that. Day one, and he was already required to learn how to spin? He was hoping he would learn more of those angular moves that stayed above his upper half. 

Levi rolled his eyes at the sight of the brunette’s fearful expression. “If you pay attention, it won’t be that hard.” 

Turning to face him once more, Levi tilted the bottom of his pole in a slow motion to his left, letting the silk of the flag just barely brush against the gym floor. He held his flag there, upside down, for Eren to see. “Release with the left hand and grab with both thumbs down.” He explained simply. 

Watching Eren try to copy his motions with this new move was hilarious. It was almost enough to crack a smile from the stoned-faced senior. He looked like a chicken with the way he practically flapped his arms as the flagged dropped to the left. Even though he looked comical, Eren had still ended up in the right position.

“…Good.” Levi breathed hesitantly. “Now, just bring it up. Release with the left hand again and grab with both thumbs up.” As he spoke, the captain did just that, bringing his flag upward again. 

Levi turned around once he had finished his example. The sight of Eren standing completely still caused his eyes to narrow. “I want to see you do it.” 

With that, Eren tensed and immediately began the action. Thankfully, he was a pretty quick learner. He was able to mimic Levi again, this time his arm movements not so awkward. The sight caused Levi to nod pleasantly. “Now, put the two together and do a drop spin. It’s a fluid motion.” He explained. 

The concept was confusing at first. Eren took a moment in silence, his brow furrowed with determination and concentration as he stared at the upright flagpole in his hands. Biting his lower lip, he was able to complete one single drop spin, even though his arms went back to their chicken-wing ways. 

“Good.” Levi breathed. “That’s one drop spin. For our warm-up, we’ll do one hundred of them without stopping.”

Eren almost choked. “One hundred--?!” He exclaimed. “Is that even possible?!”

“Of course it’s possible.” Levi huffed as he moved to tuck a stray piece of fringe behind his ear. “If it wasn’t possible I wouldn’t ask my team to do it, now would I?”

The rest of their hour together before rehearsal actual began was spent teaching the absolute basics. Levi had successfully taught Eren how to do a coning exercise for warm-up, along with an angles exercise. He had delved into teaching the brunette how to toss a single with the flag for just a bit, but that was a challenge that the captain was not willing to take in that moment. He would rather not have to sit out during his rehearsal because of a flag that was thrown against his head.

Eren had asked about the rifles leaning against the wall, and Levi was forced to hold back his laughter. 

“Only experienced members spin rifle.” The captain explained. “If you’re lucky, you might be able to _attempt_ rehearsing with one by the end of the season. I can almost guarantee that you will not use rifle during our show, however.”

That explanation in itself was a major let down for the trombonist. His eyes had caught the rifles immediately, and he would forever be fascinated with them. It was in that moment that Eren decided that it would be his goal to prove to Levi that he could indeed spin rifle in their show, no matter how hard he would have to work to catch up with the others. Of course, he would never say such a thing to Levi himself. No, he would simply prove that his skill would eventually be great enough to run with the experienced members.

Just as soon as his private rehearsal time with Levi had began, it ended. Before he could even realize just what he had gotten himself into, a gaggle of familiar looking faces made their way into the gym, accompanied with rifles, flags and sabres of their own. The way they all walked in together in a close group, their faces bright with smiles and their voices shouting over one another excitedly led Eren to believe that he would have a lot of catching up to do before he could feel comfortable in this group.

When the four finally laid their eyes upon Eren himself, the trombonist wasn’t surprised to find that their chit-chat immediately seized. They all seemed to stop in unison, their eyes growing wide with wonder and their brows furrowing with curiosity. Out of the four, the man with a blonde ponytail was the first to speak up.

“Hey, captain—“ He shouted from across the way. Levi, who had been busy setting his flag against the wall, looked over his shoulder with the usual uninterested expression. “Who’s this kid?”

“This is Eren Yeager.” Levi replied smoothly as the group came closer. “He plays the trombone in band, but because of a certain _incident_ he will be spinning with us for our winter season.”

The other members seemed to immediately understand just what incident that Levi had mentioned. It was clear that the captain hadn’t kept such a thing a secret from his teammates.

“Oh, so this is him?” The blonde replied with a smug smile. He quickly jogged over to set his equipment down next to Levi’s before he made his way over to Eren himself. “It’s nice to meet you!” He smiled, reaching out a hand for the brunette to shake. “I’m Eld. Over there is Gunther, Oluo and Petra.” He pointed to each person as he listed their respected names.

The more Eren looked at the group, the more he believed that the people in front of him were much older than simply seniors in high school. This Eld guy, he had a freakin’ goatee. The man that Eren believed to be Oluo, he had such a terrible undercut and enough wrinkles on his forehead that he was forced to believe that he was some kind of grandfather forever trapped in his senior year of high school. The guy next to him, Gunther, had a weird haircut and that was about it. The only girl, Petra, Eren believed, was far too beautiful to be a teenage girl. 

But there was an awkward silence as Eren’s emerald hues scanned the group before him. All eyes were on him now. He had forgotten about the hand that was so kindly extended toward him. Eren grabbed hold of Eld’s hand in a hurry.

“We’re all members of the guard.” Eld said as looked over his shoulder for a moment, smiling at his good friends who all seemed to look back at him with weary expressions. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”

Eren was starting to believe that Armin was right about this group. Eld seemed nice enough, but what about the others? Before the brunette could even so much as smile at the kind man before him, Oluo stepped forward with a particularly frightening expression. Or maybe that was just his face?

“How stupid are you, brat?” Wow, that kind of speech sounded really familiar. Like captain like team member, right? Still, it was enough to make Eren recoil uncomfortably with each step Oluo took forward. “Stepping on a silk like that…” He must have bit on his tongue with the way his words mushed together into one terribly rushed and confusing sentence. “Musht’ve took a hell of’a effert to get a rip ‘at big.”

“Um, excuse me?” Was all Eren could muster. 

“Oluo, stop that.” Now it was Petra’s turn to step forward. With a roll of her amber hues, she guided her feminine hand to push Oluo aside. Now that he was out of the way, she was able to guide a kind smile in Eren’s direction. “He’s going to give you a hard time.” She sighed apologetically. “He did it to all of us. But it’s okay, you can fight back. He can take it.” The small wink that was thrown Eren’s way was enough to make his heart jump. The girl before him, she was truly an angel. He was sure that Petra would be the only reason he could make it out of the next few months alive.

“Yeah, he’s not as tough as he seems.” Gunther chuckled as he moved forward to join the others. The smirk that the man wore suggested that he had quite a story to tell even before he parted his lips. “Remember when you accidentally—“

“Hey, I thought we made an agreement!” Oluo snapped. “We don’t talk about that day _ever_ again!”

Eren was left completely confused as the three others shared a group laugh. Really, it must have been a hell of a good story, judging by the way Oluo’s face had turned tomato-red. Eren was just about to ask _why_ they were all laughing so hard when a clap from across the gym caused him to jump. 

As if on cue, the other four experienced members whirled around, their forms immediately straightening. Eren was almost afraid to join them. He had a feeling he knew where that thunderous clap had come from.

At the front of the gym was Levi, already with a flag in hand. His narrowed hues suggested that he had about enough with his teammate’s mindless chatting. 

“We’re not having a pow-wow here.” He breathed, just loud enough for his dark tone to be carried across the open gym. “Get your equipment and form into a block.”

Eren blinked. He quickly turned to Petra, catching her just as she turned to head toward the front. “Wh-what’s a block?” He whispered, reaching out to grab hold of her pale arm. 

She was surprised for a moment, her eyelashes batting against her high cheekbones. But soon enough, that blank expression was replaced with the most genuine of smiles. “Just file in behind me.” She whispered sweetly.

That was just what Eren did, right after grabbing the same flag that he had been _attempting_ to work with for the past hour or so. After following after the tiny redhead, filing in behind her just like she had told him to, Eren finally understood the meaning of a block. There were three in the front—Petra, Eld, and Oluo. Behind Eld was Gunther, and there was Eren, behind Petra. If there would have been one more member behind Oluo, the block would have been perfect. Of course, front and center before the entire guard was captain Levi with a firm hold on his flag. His expression suggested that even though there was a newbie amongst them, he would show absolutely no mercy. Eren cursed mentally as his grip tightened out of fear against his pole.

“Alright, you know the drill.” Levi voiced. 

Eren felt his lower half shaking. He in fact, did not know the drill.

After turning to lean his flag against the gym wall, Levi turned back and raised his hands to hover near his neck. His eyes narrowed almost challengingly as he began to clap a steady beat. Those strong, steady claps forced Eren to swallow nervously.

“Five, six—five, six, seven eight,” Levi shouted, his voice echoing throughout the gym. And after eight, the flags began to move. Eren was frozen. He had no idea what was going on. The other four were counting along with Levi’s strong voice while their flags carved out the coning exercise that Eren learned not too long ago. He knew he was in trouble. He could feel Levi’s piercing eyes staring him down, but even so, the brunette couldn’t seem to tear his own emerald hues away from the flashes of color in front of him. The silks, they were so mesmerizing… 

“Yeager, what the _hell_ are you doing? Didn’t I teach you this warm-up only a little bit ago?”

Eren jumped again at the sound of Levi’s irritated voice. As his eyes finally moved away from the flags in front of him, he realized that all eyes were on him. 

“I—I don’t—“

“Enough. Give me twenty push-ups.” Levi sighed as he turned to pick up his own flag. 

Eren couldn’t believe his own ears. Was exercise actually a part of color guard? Well, Levi obviously wasn’t joking around when he saw him turn around with eyes like daggers. In a flash, Eren was on the ground, pumping out those twenty push-ups as quickly as possible. Thankfully, he had been practicing them at home on a regular basis to make sure he stayed in shape.

When he was done, standing up, panting out of fear and not exhaustion, Levi had already begun clapping out another series of counts. Eren was prepared this time, he was sure of it. But as Levi finished his count-off, and Eren started to move his flag in the direction that the captain had taught him for the coning exercise, everyone else’s flags had dropped to their left. Were these drop spins? No, that wasn’t right. They were like… Small tosses. But they didn’t exactly go up into the air, with just enough rotation to land in their hands with the silk pointing downward. Was this the angles exercise? Eren had honestly forgotten everything that he had learned now that he had been put on the spot. 

With a harsh sigh, Levi raised one hand as a signal for the others to stop. “This is hopeless.” He breathed roughly. With one hand on his hip, the other holding tight to his flag, he moved his eyes to give Eren one of the most frightening looks that he had seen yet. “Why don’t you sit out for now?”


	6. Strong Coffee

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren sits out for the rest of rehearsal, and he ends up not minding that at all. Later, Eren learns that Levi closely resembles a hipster when he takes him to a trendy coffee shop. They make plans, but not the romantic kind. Eren is surprised to find that Levi does most of the talking at the coffee shop.

“Wait, what did you say?”

The look of pure dissatisfaction and disgust on Levi’s face was enough to make Eren nearly recoil in fear. The captain must have really hated to repeat himself what with the way he always looked at Eren like he was an idiot whenever he asked for clarification. 

After some looking around, emerald hues scanning the faces of the other more experienced members' terribly uncomfortable expressions, Eren was able to determine that the fact that Levi didn’t like to repeat himself was not only a fact, but a law that everyone in the color guard had learned to follow; except him.

“I asked you to sit out for the rest of rehearsal, Yeager.” The raven all but hissed. “What, do your ears need cleaning? Stop looking around like an idiot and sit next to me by the wall.”

Eren wanted to move, he really did. He would have done anything to get himself out of the gym entirely where he wouldn’t have to worry about the looks of his peers around him. But sadly, his legs refused him the pleasure of moving. They were heavy, extremely heavy like lead. His forehead was coated in a thin layer of nervous sweat. His palms were sticky with the moisture, and the pole in his hands nearly slipped out of his grasp before he tightened his hands around it. 

He could practically feel Erd’s, Gunter’s, Oluo’s and Petra’s eyes burning into his back, just willing him to move forward. Eren’s legs trembled in absolute fear as he did his best to take one shaky step forward. He felt like a newborn foal, unbeknownst to the concept of walking. He must have looked like one too, with the way his body swayed as he extended one leg forward. 

The sound of Levi clicking his tongue against his teeth echoed through the open gym and sent a shiver down Eren’s spine, and not in a good way. His head, which had been focused downward on his disobedient feet, snapped up at the sound. He could tell by the pain in the center of his wrinkled forehead that his expression clearly gave away the level of fear he was experiencing in that moment.

“Don’t look at me like I’m a fucking monster.” Levi spoke. If his voice hadn’t sounded so demanding, Eren would have thought that he was actually offended. But he was Levi—a person who could have cared less about what his peers thought of him. “Get your ass over here or be hit with a flag pole.”

The clapping of Levi’s hands, signaling a new count-off was all that Eren needed to snap his legs back to reality. In a flash, he was moving, running, weaving through the block before the very obedient guard members followed the counts and began another exercise. Eren was not in the mood to be struck by the mighty force that the others put behind their flags. 

Now at the front of the gym, heart racing and head aching, Eren pressed his back against the wall. Not only did he intend to distance himself from the scary aura that was emitting from the captain up front, but he felt like his legs were about to collapse underneath him. He needed to sit down before his body decided to bring him to the ground in a much more embarrassing way. With his hands dragging along the rough surface of the gym wall, Eren slowly lowered himself until his backside was resting not so comfortably against the surprisingly cold wood floor. He rolled his head back against the wall, allowing a few breathy pants to part his lips in order to collect his breath. He had always thought of himself as being relatively fit for a guy in marching band, but from the way his heart was racing after only a few meters of running, Eren was starting to think otherwise.

The clapping of Levi’s hands became white noise in his mind—merely sound in the background. His eyes had slipped closed during his battle to catch his breath, and after the clapping and counting had finally come to an end, the brunette was forced to open them. There was really no point, though. After scanning the block in front of him, eyes then cautiously moving to the side to sneak a glance at Levi’s determined expression, Eren came to a conclusion that no one had any intention of paying attention to him at all. Surprisingly, that was what he preferred.

The rest of that rehearsal, the group excluding Eren, was spent going over basics. There was nothing else they could work on, really. Field show was over, and the guard hadn’t decided on a show concept for the winter season yet. Without a show, there was no way they could come up with work. So instead, Levi lead his members in warm-ups on flag, rifle, sabre and lastly dance. Eren watched in wonder as he watched the others spin. Each of them were perfect in his eyes, and yet, Levi still found every opportunity he could to correct their form, even if they were just practicing basics. 

Watching the group spin was interesting. Eren was able to get a taste of what he would soon be experiencing, which was probably Levi’s reasoning for sitting him out. Just to take a moment to be a sponge—to simply absorb. But more than spinning, Eren loved to watch them dance. 

His favorite part of their dance exercises—“across-the-floors“, Levi called them—was that Levi didn’t just sit at the front and watch. No, he joined the group, but as usual, he was at the front. Levi always seemed to be the center of attention.

Before the others would complete the exercise, Levi would first perform by himself. He would show his team just what to do. He did beautiful things with his feet, things that Eren knew had names but Eren wasn’t a dancer and he had no idea what those things were called. He was sure they had weird names, too. 

Levi’s toes were forever pointed as they dance on the gym floor. He leaped, he spun in a circle doing fancy movements with his hands, he rolled onto the floor in the most graceful of ways and was up in a flash. He pranced, danced, and everything in between. Eren was moved by his examples alone. He couldn’t wait until the day he could watch Levi actually perform. He had been gifted with that sight once before and was eagerly awaiting the next. Surely after watching Levi move, the others would not come anywhere close to his level of grace. 

And that was true.

The others were skilled, that was for sure. But no one could match the pure skill that Levi held for his “sport”. Either way, it was surprisingly entertaining for the trombonist to sit back and watch the group work on their dance warm-ups. But the more he watched, the more fearful he became for the day that _he_ would have to learn those complicated dances, too. 

Just as soon as it had started, practice had ended. Levi called the group over to join him in a circle, even motioning for Eren to finally join. Of course, he ran right over with the most eager of expressions.

“You all did very well today.” Levi began. Despite the ever-serious look on his face, his words were genuine. “I apologize for not having much to work on today. I’m still looking at different music for our show. When I finally make a decision, I’ll email the song to you all. That reminds me—“ Turning to the brunette beside him, Levi moved to push one stray lock of his ebony hair away from his eyes. “I need your email address.”

Eren blinked. Even though their communication through email would surely only be for the guard’s sake, he couldn’t help but feel a little flattered that Levi _needed_ his email address. 

Levi arched his brow in a silent sort of taunt. He had clearly read Eren’s peculiar reaction and took it for what it was worth. “Don’t flatter yourself, Yeager.” He chuckled. “I won’t respond to any of your emails unless they concern the color guard.”

With that addressed, Levi moved back to face the group as a whole. “As you know, tomorrow is a day off. Make sure to stretch and practice your basics. Enjoy your short break.”

With that, they were dismissed. Everyone parted their ways, going opposite directions from one another to gather their own equipment. Erd and Gunter filed off in a pair, talking and laughing while Oluo moved out on his own to collect his rifle and sabre. Levi moved back to the front of the gym to gather his own things, and Eren stood helpless. He sure as hell didn’t know where to go. Did they all chat after rehearsal? Was that a thing? Or did they all just go on their way home?

Thank God for Petra, because she was the only one to notice Eren’s awkward self and approach him with a warm smile on her face. 

“Don’t be discouraged, Eren.” She began sweetly, even going as far as placing a comforting hand on the boy’s shoulder. “Everyone started with no experience. All of us came to practice one day and had the same experience as you.”

Eren found that hard to believe. “You mean… Levi sat you out, too?” He was sure that was a right _only_ reserved for a brat like himself. But when Petra nodded her head, the brunette was surprised to find that he was proved wrong.

“He does that to every new member.” She explained. “Levi does that because it’s a way for them to just understand how he does things, you know? He has a routine that he follows and he’s not willing to change it for a new member. So he just lets them watch instead.”

Well, that was a breath of relief. Eren didn’t have to feel like an idiot anymore, now that he knew being asked to sit out was apart of some kind of weird initiation. With an appreciative sigh, he nodded his head once, gathering his lips up into the friendliest smile he could muster from still being slightly shaken by Levi’s venomous voice echoing in his head. “Thank you, Petra. I feel a lot better now.”

Petra smiled in turn, her eyes narrowing pleasantly as she looked up to Eren with a set of warm eyes. “You’ll get there, Eren. Just keep practicing.” 

Petra left then, jogging after Oluo to keep his sorry ass company and collect her equipment. Again, Eren was left alone. It was bittersweet to watch the others walk out of the gym, grouping together once more and exchanging words with enticing smiles. Eren desperately wanted to be apart of that group. He wanted to know what it was like to _fit in_ , even if fitting in meant being apart of the color guard, which half of the high school often poked fun at. He would keep telling himself the same thing that he heard from Petra’s lips;

_You’ll get there, Eren._

Eren had been caught off guard when he heard a voice from behind him. It was a simple “hey,” low enough that he was convinced that the source of that voice was none other than Levi himself. Funny, he had just had a conversation about the guy. Whirling around, the brunette bit his lower lip and straightened his back. He took a deep breath in through his nostrils, hoping that whatever Levi had to say to him wouldn’t be another obnoxious order. He had to drop his whole “captain” attitude at some point, right?

“Shit, you don’t have to look so scared every time I approach you.” Levi sighed. “I was just going to ask you if you wanted to get some coffee with me.”

Eren moved to bite his tongue, physically holding himself back from repeating what Levi had just said. He didn’t want to ruin the surprisingly kind gesture that was offered to him.

“Wow, really?” He breathed, a nervous smile tugging at the corners of his thin lips. “I’ve never really ‘got coffee’ before.” 

The extent of Eren’s coffee drinking had literally been the refrigerated, canned beverages by Starbucks sold in the grocery store. Mikasa had actually taken him to the Starbucks location quite a few times before, but the weird names of the drinks and sizes always freaked him out so his sister always opted to order for him; a vanilla Frappucino, hardly coffee at all.  
  
Levi crossed his arms over his chest and shifted his weight from one hip to the other. “Are you serious?” He scoffed. It amazed him how a freak like Eren could survive one week of school without making a pit stop for coffee. “Well, either way, I’d like for you to come with me so we can go over the schedule. I don’t know about you, but I physically need a cup of coffee to make it through the rest of the day.”

Eren couldn’t disagree to that. The fact that Levi was even attempting to be civil with him was mind blowing. Did he have a sudden change of heart, or was he just finally dropping his power hungry attitude? The fact that Levi could act like a normal eighteen year old was beyond Eren’s comprehension. He was convinced that the guy was some kind of robot. 

“Yeah, I’ll go with you.” It’s not like he had anything planned for the afternoon, anyway.

“Great.” Eren was surprised that Levi’s reaction seemed genuine. It was like he was relieved—relieved that he didn’t have to put up a fight to get the trombonist to come with him. “We’ll take my car. The place I like to go isn’t within walking distance. Don’t worry, I’ll drive you back here so you can pick up your own car. I assume you have one.”

Obviously, Levi was right. It only convinced Eren further that he was indeed a robot.

The car ride to the coffee shop was incredibly awkward. Neither Levi nor Eren made an effort to make any kind of conversation. Usually, Eren, being the ridiculous guy he was with a horrible sense of humor, would opt to break the ice with “how’s the weather?” or something equally stupid. But, he figured Levi wouldn’t appreciate such an effort. 

Levi must have felt the awkward air around them, too, when he chose to turn on the radio of his 2010 Ford Focus hatchback. That car, it wasn’t exactly the type he imagined Levi driving. But then again, he was the one who shared a “lesburu” with his sister. 

The radio slowly faded up, playing a song that was unknown to Eren. Naturally, Levi a color guard enthusiast had a very eccentric music taste. He was sure that the song playing on the radio was one of those weird, underground tracks by some indie band. Eren was more of a rock guy himself, but anything was better than silence. 

Levi was a good driver. He was careful and attentive. Eren could tell that he was just by sneaking a few looks at his sharp, watchful eyes. Levi was a much better driver than Eren. He felt surprisingly safe sitting in the car with Levi. It was an enjoyable feeling, actual. Eren embraced the silence between them and listened to the music on the radio. Although he had never heard any of those songs before, they were catchy, enough to make his foot tap along to the beat. He anticipated Levi to tell him to knock it off, to tell him that he was annoying, but he did the exact opposite. Levi joined him, tapping his index finger along to the music against the steering wheel of his car.

The coffee shop made Eren feel nervous. He could tell just by the outside exterior that he most certainly did not belong in there. The large floor to ceiling windows, the twinkling lights strung all along the walls, the large plush chairs, the recycled wood tables and matching chairs, and the chalk board with various drawings in the back. After walking inside and hearing the same sort of music in Levi’s car, Eren was convincing that this coffee shop was one of those trendy, hole-in-the-wall places designed specifically for hipsters.

Levi wasn’t a hipster, was he?

Eren gave the guy a once over. No, a twice over. Even though he was wearing sweat pants, he had them rolled up and cuffed to his mid-calf. He wore a black shirt made of a burnout material and an oversized red and blue flannel over it. After he approached the counter, raking his fingers through his perfectly styled ebony locks, Eren was able to come to one simple conclusion.

Levi was indeed a hipster. Anyone who could make sweatpants look fashionable had to be a hipster.

Eren watched with wide eyes as Levi ordered his coffee. He blinked anxiously as he spoke to the cashier at the counter before he tilted his head upward to look at the extensive menu above, also written on a black chalk board with very feminine penmanship. The names of the caffeinated drinks above were enough to make his head ache. The strong scent of ground coffee beans only made it worse.

“What do you want?” Levi’s voice snapped Eren’s head back forward. He felt his heart begin to race. Thankfully, there was no one behind him, otherwise he would have been holding up a line. That was actually Eren’s biggest fear of going out.

“I don’t know—“ He breathed, before biting his lip and taking a chance. “I’ll just have what you ordered.”

Levi’s brow furrowed as if he were skeptical before he turned back over to repeat the same order to the cashier. After handing the money over to the lady behind the register, Levi shoved the change into the pocket of his sweats and turned to find a place for the both of them to sit.

“Wait, did you pay for my coffee?” Eren breathed as he trailed after the raven. “You didn’t have to do that, I brought cash—“

“It was my way of repaying you.” Levi interrupted as he moved to take a seat. “Repaying you for putting up with me today, that is.”

Eren had been in the process of joining Levi at the recycled wood table when his body became frozen. He was shocked. Was he hearing alright? Did he imagine what Levi just said?

“I know it can be hard catching up.” He continued, crossing his arms over his chest and leaning back against his seat. “I’ve seen a lot of people struggle during their first rehearsal. You had a good attitude, so this is my way of thanking you.”

Eren inhaled a deep breath before he was finally able to move again. With a wild heart pounding beneath his chest, the brunette was able to finally lower himself into the seat across from the captain. “Do you do this to every new member…?” He wondered.

He was surprised to have earned a short chuckle from Levi’s lips. “No, I don’t.” He admitted. “I just felt especially sorry for you when you forgot how to walk.”

Eren couldn’t help but agree with a shrug and a nod of his head. Yeah, that had been pretty embarrassing. Now that he thought about it, he did earn a little something for pushing through that little scene. 

When two coffees in white café cups were presented at their table, Eren was overwhelmed with the scent of strong coffee. 

“Oh, yeah—“ Levi began, a faint smirk lingering on his lips. “You’re going to regret ordering my drink. I take my coffee very strong.”

Eren swallowed nervously as he watched Levi raise his cup to his lips, taking a generous sip, even though the coffee was still piping hot. His tongue must have been thoroughly trained to except this burning hot drink. The way Levi made it sound, his blood must have been made up of entirely coffee. 

The brunette looked down at the threatening black color of his drink. He licked the outer corner of his lips as he shifted within his seat. He knew he couldn’t even manage one sip of that coffee. With a quick hand, he reached for the packets of sugar located to the right of their table. He took three, and began opening them feverishly and dumping them into his drink. He ignored Levi’s sound of disapproval and reached for a spoon to stir its contents. 

As Eren blew on the hot coffee, Levi moved to pull his cell phone out of his pocket and set it on the table. Of course, a white iPhone. The model, Eren wasn’t so sure of. He hadn’t kept up with the new models of the iPhone. There were far too many.

After sliding the unlock bar, Levi used his index to poke around at the screen, pulling up the calendar app and sliding it across the table for Eren to see. 

“So, about the schedule.” Yeah, that was the reason why he had agreed to meet with Levi in the first place. “As you can probably see, practices are every Monday, Tuesday and Thursday. So, tomorrow is a day off like I had said earlier. But, since you need more help than I thought, I want you to meet with me for extra rehearsal time.”

One-on-one practice time with Levi didn’t sound so bad. It was when he was with the entire group, completely clueless, embarrassing himself-- that was when he dreaded rehearsal. 

“Yeah, okay—I can probably do that. Where would we meet?”

Resting his elbow on the table, Levi cupped his cheek in his hand. His brow furrowed as he looked down at the calendar app. “We can meet at my place. I’ll email you my address tonight. I want you to come tomorrow, and then after that, we can decided a more regular schedule until you show improvement.”

Eren’s heart skipped a beat. Going over to Levi’s house sounded much more intimate than the captain probably anticipated. It was just for practice, after all. Brushing his leg against the other, Eren gave a soft nod. “That works.” He agreed simply. “Here, let me give you my email.”

Reaching back for his phone, Levi opened the note app and slid it back over Eren’s way across the table. The brunette tapped away at the touchscreen, giving his email address and handing it back over to the raven. 

Levi took one look at the screen before his shoulders were rattled with a soft chuckle. “BonerBoyYeager?” He breathed with one arched brow. “Are you serious?”

Eren adverted Levi’s gaze, his cheeks automatically lighting up with a rosy glow of embarrassment. “I made it in like, the sixth grade. We used to always call our trombones ‘boners’.” He explained lowly. 

Levi gave another short laugh before locking his phone and slipping it back into his pocket. He reached for his coffee before parting his lips. “You know, if you ever want to get a job you’re going to have to change that. No one will hire you with that email.”

Eren sighed in defeat. He knew exactly what Levi was talking about, from experience. He was sure that the reason why he was never called back for an interview at McDonald’s was because of his obnoxious email address.

The rest of their time at the coffee shop was surprisingly enjoyable. Eren asked about Levi’s ideas for their show concept. He explained that he was looking into something theatrical, something with traditional theatre. Eren wasn’t opposed to the idea, but he also felt as if it were a little out of his comfort zone. 

The two also talked about Levi’s dance background. He said that he had started taking dance classes when he was in junior high because of an interesting movie he had seen as a child. The name of the movie quickly slipped past Eren’s mind. Levi said the classes he had taken were for Modern dance. It was his favorite, he said, because of how expressive the dances could be. 

The two had talked long after their coffees were gone. Eren found himself losing track of time as he listened to Levi go on and on about his favorite memories of dance and color guard. It was different, seeing a guy who seemed so emotionless on the surface become so passionate as he talked. Eren could see it in his eyes—Levi’s absolute love for all things artistic. 

But when their conversation had finally died down, Levi returning to his usual reserved self, it was time to leave. They left their café cups out for the employees to take care of and walked back into the cold fall night to return to Levi’s Focus. 

It must have been the coffee that caused Levi to be so talkative, because once inside the car, the radio was the only sound that could be heard. The car ride felt surprisingly short on the way back, now that Eren wasn’t anticipating anything in particular. He cupped his chin with his hand as he thought about Levi’s passion for guard the entire ride back to the school. 

Goodbyes were awkward. They always were with Eren. But, they were especially awkward with Levi. 

“Well, I’ll see you tomorrow, then.” Levi was the first to speak as Eren unbuckled his seatbelt. “Don’t forget to check your email or you’ll have no idea where to go.”

Eren nodded in response. “Yeah, I will.” This was the awkward part. Jumping out of the car and holding the door open to stick his head inside, a nervous smile caused his cold lips to twitch upward.

“Thanks for the coffee.”

Levi simply blinked in response. After collecting a quick breath and rolling his eyes, he tightened his hands on the steering wheel and directed his gaze forward. “I told you—it was my thank you. Now close the door. It fucking freezing outside.” 

With a soft chuckle, Eren did just that. He wasn’t sure whether to wave or not as Levi drove away, so instead, he slipped his hands into the pockets of his shorts and simply nodded as a goodbye gesture. 

It was strange walking back to his car alone. After getting inside and inserting the key into the ignition, he sat in silence, allowing the car to warm up before he took off.

All the while, sitting in his cold Forrester, shivering with his hands in his pockets, Eren couldn’t help but disagree with what he had thought earlier.

Levi was most certainly not a robot. He was a passionate guy, and he wasn’t half bad to hang around with.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm actually really happy with this chapter. I like the way this story is heading so far, and I hope you all are, too. The scene with the coffee shop brings me back to a place I visited in Vancouver, Washington. I'm kind of obsessed with coffee shops. 
> 
> Thank you for reading! Always remember that I track the tag "fic:spinning the flags of freedom" on Tumblr! You can follow me on Tumblr too. My URL will forever be p-jean.tumblr.com ~
> 
> I would love to hear what you all have to say.
> 
> EDIT: Oh wow, I'm so sorry for those who read this chapter before I proof read it. I learned by lesson. Soooo many errors. Like, my friend Mandy(chappythebunny here on AO3), was reading it aloud and that served as my proof read. I was so embarrassed by the amount of errors.


	7. Room 612

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren finally confronts Mikasa about her feelings about Levi and color guard in general. He's shocked by her reasoning, and doubts the trust between the two of them. Later, Eren visits Levi at his home for a one-on-one rehearsal. What happens in Levi's living room leaves Eren feeling speechless.

Eren was surprised to find his sister on the sofa when he finally arrived home. She had been flipping through the television channels, so it seemed, stopping on some reality television show about Italian people as he walked through the door. For a moment, her eyes lit up, as if she were terribly excited and relieved to see that her brother was finally home. But just like the quick speed she had used to change channels, that look was gone and replaced with an expression disinterest. Violet hues flickered away from bright emerald orbs, lips thinned out into a straight line while she returned back to her sport of mindlessly clicking her thumb against the controller.

“You’re home later than expected.” Mikasa breathed monotonously over the gentle hum of the quiet television.

“Yeah, um…” What could he say? He had gone out on a casual date with the color guard captain? No, that wasn’t it. They hadn’t been on a date at all. It was simply a meeting. “After practice Levi asked me to go over the schedule with him.”

Mikasa was silent. Although Eren couldn’t see her face now that it was turned back to the TV, he could tell by her silence that she wasn’t exactly happy with his response.

“Oh.” Was all she responded with before clicking to another channel, one that televised popular programs in Spanish.

With a gentle sigh, the brunette set his car keys aside on the table near the door and ran his fingers through his knotted chocolate locks. With a few slow strides, his knees were pressed against the sofa where his sister sat. Eren folded his arms over his chest, wearing a furrowed brow as he leaned down to reach her lower level.

“What’s up with you and Levi?” He asked. With the way he narrowed his eyes, it was as if the question were a challenge. “Is there something that you’re not telling me?”

“Eren, you’re blocking my view of the TV.”

“I’m being serious!” Eren breathed harshly, moving up to stand at his full stance, but keeping his arms folded tightly against his chest. “Every time I bring him up you always get all pissed. You’re my sister, for Christ’s sake. I tell you everything, so why don’t you do the same for me? Aren’t we supposed to trust each other?”

Mikasa pressed her tongue against her teeth while her brow creased in irritation. In one fluid motion, the television was off, and the remote was set onto the coffee table in front of the sofa. She leaned forward, bracing her elbows on her thighs while she looked up at Eren with a set of dark, dreary hues. For a brief moment, the brunette felt bad for prying at her like that. But, if it was enough to make her talk, then so be it.

“You want to know what my problem with Levi is?” She hissed, causing her brother to tense. “He’s a dick. He’s biased, and he’s a sexist. That’s what my problem is.”

“…What are you talking about?” Eren whispered hesitantly. His mind was quickly spiraling downward into a fit of worry. Sure, he had known that Levi tended to be kind of an asshole upon first encounters, but he didn’t see him as being a sexist at all. With a creased brow and a shaking head, he eased forward, moving to take a seat next to his sister. He finally unfolded his arms then, moving to press a comforting hand to her shoulder. “Mikasa, what are you saying?”

“What I’m saying is that he fucking hates women.” Mikasa sighed. She was doing her best to control her rage. She appreciated Eren’s touch, but in a moment like this, it only served as a distraction. If she was going to say her opinion about Levi, then surely she would have to explain _why_ she believed him to be that way. Knowing Eren, he wouldn’t stop pestering her until she did.

Reaching up to tuck a stray lock of her ebony hair behind her ear, Mikasa then placed her hands on the base of her neck and moved to lean back against the cushioned sofa. She took a quick moment to swallow, at what in particular was a mystery, but it seemed to ease her tense body. 

“Alright…” She began slowly. “Eren, you’re right. I should have been honest with you. Remember when I told you I was staying after to finish up an assessment during the first month of school?”

A nod encouraged her to continue. 

“I wasn’t taking a test. I was auditioning for color guard, okay? But it was a waste of my time. I didn’t get on the team because Levi didn’t want a girl on his guard.” 

Her tone was sharp, stinging like venom. It made Eren’s lower lip quiver. Her hands had moved to her lap, clutching the fabric of her sweatpants with tight fists. Her tongue moved out in a sharp, quick fashion to wet the corner of her mouth. She looked like she had more to say, but for one reason or another, she was holding back.

Mikasa loved Eren dearly. She wasn’t sure how her brother felt about Levi in the slightest. They hadn’t talked about the color guard captain to one another until that very moment. What if he actually liked him? What if they were friends? She was beginning to feel guilty for bad-mouthing a man that Eren had the potential of befriending. 

But then again, Mikasa didn’t want them to be friends. She hadn’t even wanted for her brother to join the color guard in the first place. Now who would she sit with during football games? The color guard always sat in a section with one another. Armin was great and all, but he was no Eren Yeager.

“Mikasa—that doesn’t even make sense.” Eren scoffed, snapping the raven-haired teen back to reality. “Petra is a girl, and she’s on the color guard.”

Mikasa closed her eyes tightly, doing her best to ride out another wave of burning irritation. “That’s just it, Eren. The only reason why Petra is on the color guard is because she grew up with Levi. That’s why I said that he’s biased.”

Eren’s lips parted slowly, like molasses. His heart was racing wildly beneath his chest. Doing his best to piece all of these details together, he came to an abrupt realization that Mikasa could in fact be right.

Petra knew an awful lot about Levi. The only thing that she and Eren had talked about was, in fact, Levi. 

Petra was _decent_ at flag, rifle and sabre work from what Eren saw that day at rehearsal. She was definitely the weakest link in the team. Excluding Eren himself, that is. Petra wasn’t bad—no, not at all. But compared to the sharp, precise and strong movements of the other men on the team, she definitely stood out as to having a different technique. 

Maybe that was why Levi didn’t appreciate having females on his color guard. They just weren’t as strong as males.

But even with that thought it mind, having a sexist captain just didn’t make sense.

“Why would he be sexist--?” Eren whispered, pressing a palm to his suddenly aching forehead. He couldn’t remember thinking that hard since his most recent test in Pre Calculus. 

Eren had been eagerly expecting an answer from his sister, but rather than words, he was faced with a dumbfounded expression. 

He was really growing tired of everyone around him treating him like he was an idiot.

“Eren, do you seriously not know?”

He must have been missing something. But what could it be? What could be so blatantly obvious about Levi that he had failed to realize? He had already established the fact that he was a hipster. What more was there?

Mikasa rolled her eyes as she back fell against the sofa. After using her foot to push into her brother’s side, she peeked her head up just enough to look him into his bright blue-green eyes.

“Levi’s gay. That’s why he hates girls.”

Eren had trouble sleeping that night. As much as he trusted his sister, even the simple _thought_ of Levi being gay was appalling. He had been sure that the color guard captain was asexual. He could never see such a stern man falling in love with anyone. 

It wasn’t just Levi’s questionable sexuality that was keeping him up. He was burning with rage. Eren wasn’t sure how he would be able to face Levi tomorrow, knowing that he had turned his sister down, supposedly because of her gender. That in itself made the teenager’s body hot, enough so that he was forced to throw the covers of his bed off of his nearly nude body. 

He was tempted to exploit his knowledge of Levi’s e-mail address, the address he had received a message containing his home address from as soon as he logged onto his computer. He had half the mind to chew the guy out for being such a selfish prick. A devil on his shoulder was even encouraging Eren to use that address of his to his advantage and throw eggs at Levi’s house. 

_Come on, Eren. What are you, ten?_

But then again, who was to say that Mikasa’s story was one hundred percent true? Eren would have to wait until he saw Levi for one-on-one practice to confirm such a thing.

The next morning was like hell. Getting up after only three and a half hours of sleep was not ideal for Eren. He had never been able to push past his rage to get himself a decent night’s sleep. But after popping the cap of the canned-coffee that was practically his crack, the idea of dragging himself out of the house to go to school didn’t seem so threatening as before. 

Mikasa drove the Forrester that morning. The ride was silent, and Eren would rather it be that way. He didn’t feel like exploding on the subject of a certain raven-haired midget who was a so-called homosexual sexist. Mikasa, on the other hand, had seemed to completely move on from the topic. From one look at Eren, who possessed a death grip on his can of coffee, she was able to tell that he wasn’t open to the idea of the color guard captain turning down her audition simply because of her sex. Just knowing that Eren cared, like a brother should, was enough to calm her worried heart.

The day, much like any other day where Eren was anticipating one thing in particular, seemed to drag on forever. Every moment in class was spent with the brunette impatiently tapping the eraser of his mechanical pencil against his desk, more than likely irritating the hell out of whoever sat next to him. But he couldn’t help it. It was a nervous, anxious habit of his he just couldn’t break. 

But soon enough, the final bell had rung, signaling the end of the school day. The brunette nearly jumped at the sound, racing to gather his day-to-day class essentials and shove them into his school bag. Just as he was walking out of the door of his sixth period World History class, Eren felt his cell phone vibrate within his pocket right against his thigh. He dug the device out of his pocket in a hurry and unlocked the main screen to read the message.

Mikasa: I’m staying after class to re-take a Chemistry test. You can take the car without me.

 _Well, isn’t that ironic._ Eren thought to himself as he slipped his cell phone back into his pocket. At least he knew that she wouldn’t be trying out for any more color guards.

Back in the Forrester, Eren searched for the slip of paper he had quickly copied down Levi’s address on in the glove box. He had found said paper, after much searching, under a Chinese take-out menu. He glanced over the words, in penmanship he couldn’t even recognize as his own, before shoving the paper into the cup holder by his side and slipping the key into the ignition. 

Even though Eren wasn’t a particularly good driver, he was pretty good at giving and following directions. The only problem he faced behind the wheel was road rage. Mikasa was often forced to take over driving because of Eren’s countless breakdowns whenever other drivers cut him off. But thankfully, the brunette had easily found his way to what he had hoped to be Levi’s home without getting himself into an accident induced by rage. 

Eren hadn’t expected Levi to live in an apartment complex. For a moment, he doubted himself. He even unfolded the crumpled up piece of paper in the cup holder to take a second look at the address he had copied down. There was no apartment number written down anywhere on that sheet. Either he forgot to include that tidbit of information, or he had taken a wrong turn. 

But with a sudden boost of confidence, Eren decided to pull into a parking slot specifically for visitors and shut off his car. He could always ask the front desk, right?

Eren’s heart was racing like mad as he walked away from his car, key in hand, pressing the lock button as he entered the door of the apartment complex’s main lobby. He was relieved to see the face of a very fresh-faced young woman at the guest service’s table. He approached with a weary smile on his lips.

“Hello, sir! What can I help you with?” She smiled, too chipper for her own good.

Eren shifted nervously, slipping his hands into the pockets of his letterman as his eyes jumped from wall to wall. “I know this sounds kind of weird, but I’m supposed to be visiting a guy by the name of Levi. I don’t really know if I’m at the right place, though.” 

“Oh! Well, I have great news to tell you—A young man by the name Levi does in fact live in this apartment complex.” She replied, unable to wipe that cheery smile from her heavily glossed lips.

Eren’s eyes lit up at her response, regardless of her incredibly fake attitude. “Are we talking about the same Levi here? Short, black hair, always looks like he’s pissed off…?”

Such a description was enough to earn a genuine giggle from the front desk worker’s lips. She gave a nod before typing a series of strokes into her computer. “Yes, that’s Levi.” She practically sang. “I have his housing information, if you’d like—“

“Yeah, that’d be great.”

“His apartment is on floor six, room 612.” She explained, reading the information from her screen before lifting her head back up to throw another smile Eren’s way.

“Wow, thank you so much.” He breathed genuinely. “I would have been lost without you. Literally.”

As he turned his back, he was relieved to hear that he had enticed another giggle from the woman. It was good to know that someone appreciated his shitty sense of humor.

It was a quick walk to the elevator, and an even speedier ride up to floor six. Thankfully, Levi’s door wasn’t that far down the hall after the elevator doors had opened. Eren had found it with ease. But now that he was there, standing right before the color guard captain’s very own home, he couldn’t help but feel a little nervous. 

Why? He wasn’t so sure.

With one shaking hand, he lifted his fist to rap his knuckles against the wood of Levi’s apartment door. Within seconds, Eren could hear a clicking noise from the other side of the door, signaling that his call and been answered and the lock from the inside was being released.

Levi answered the door with a hand feeding through his ebony locks. He had just finished dressing himself in “rehearsal clothes”—another pair of freckled grey, cuffed sweatpants, and a navy colored tank-top with armholes that fell dangerously low. As he stepped aside, offering Eren inside, his expression seemed neither excited nor irritated by the presence of his guest. 

“Glad you could stop by, Yeager.” He breathed, closing the door behind the brunette as he moved into the entry. “I was expecting you to get lost and give up.”

Eren pressed his hand against the white wall to his left as he moved to slip off his shoes. “Yeah, well—I was close.” He admitted with a half-hearted laugh. “I didn’t write down the number of your apartment so when I pulled up to this place I thought I had made a wrong turn.”

Levi chuckled beneath his breath, placing one hand to his hip as he moved to slip past Eren and move into the hall of his home. “Well, you came to the right place.” He sighed. Turning his head over his shoulder, the raven’s left brow arched almost playfully as he extended his arms out in the air. “Welcome to my humble abode.”

Eren knew that Levi must have lived in a nice place. He could tell just by his appearance that he wouldn’t tolerate anything less. But when he had followed the captain into the living room and kitchen area of his apartment, he was overwhelmed. 

Everything about Levi’s home was wonderful. It was clean, well-furnished and had a great view of the park below. Everything was cohesive. Not one single item seemed out of place. It was like Levi was some kind of interior designer with the way he decorated.

Decorative pillows matched the curtains that hung on the floor to ceiling window in the living room. The wooden coffee table was adorned with exotic trinkets. The sofa seemed incredibly comfortable. The dark wood flooring below was covered with a white fluffy rug. The kitchen was made entirely of stainless steel appliances. It couldn’t have all been his doing, could it?

“Holy shit…” Eren breathed, earning a low chuckle from Levi’s smirking lips. “Is this really your place?”

“It’s my parent’s apartment.” Levi explained. “They’re currently on business in Australia, so I’m living here by myself so I can continue to go to school.”

Well, that explained a lot.

“How long will they be gone?” 

Levi had already moved to the closet near the hall before Eren had decided to ask him another question. Opening the door and bending over to retrieve something from the floor, he was able to call from across the room--

“I’m not sure. It depends on how things go for them there. I’ve already been living by myself for two months.”

Eren couldn’t imagine living by himself. He would drive himself insane with how bored and alone he would become. But for a guy like Levi, it seemed perfect for him to be living on his own. He probably liked it that way, too.

When Levi had emerged from the closet, he held two flags in his hand. Eren was caught off guard as he watched the raven stalk toward him, a plain look on his face as he handed over the more tattered looking flag.

“Oh, hold up—“ Eren didn’t appreciate the glare that he received from the other after he had spoken those words. Easing the flag back into Levi’s hand, Eren held up his own palms in defense.

“I know I came here to practice, but there’s one thing I want to talk to you about first.”

Levi moved to rest the stopper of the flags against the wood floor as he cocked one hip out to the side. With narrowed grey hues, he tilted his head to the side. “Alright, fine.” He whispered. 

Eren swallowed, moving one hand to run through his hair before he found enough strength to tackle the topic that had kept him up all night.

“If you didn’t know, Mikasa is my sister.” He began, simply testing the waters.

“Mikasa _who?_ Do you mean the flute player?” Levi sighed, seemingly completely unfazed by the name. Eren was already starting to doubt himself for even bringing her up. He could see this conversation leading him nowhere. 

“Clarinet.” Eren corrected. The twitch of Levi’s irritated brow made his heart jump. “Anyway, yeah, her. But, um… I was talking to her last night and she said something pretty weird.”

“Why are you bringing this up to me?”

“Well, because—It was about you.” Eren replied quickly. It was like the words had jumped out from his mouth like vomit. 

Levi simply raised one curious brow in response.

“She, um… She said she tried out for color guard earlier this year.” Eren dared to go on. For his own comfort, he had moved his hands down to tug and toy with the seam of his t-shirt.

“Yes, that’s right.” Levi sighed, adjusting his hold on the flag poles in his hands. “What about it?”

It was too late to turn back now. 

“She said that you didn’t let her on the team because you’re gay and you hate girls.” Eren was shocked at the rate at which his words sped out from his lips. His heart sank after realizing just how rudely he had phrased his sentence. While Levi stared at him with the blankest expression he had seen the man wear to that day, his heart deiced to pick up pace, continuing to race wildly beneath his chest.

Levi’s secondary reaction to Eren’s words—his first being to stare at him—was to laugh. It was a genuine laugh, the most convincing that Eren had heard escape from his lips. The way his brow creased at the center of his forehead, although made his laugh all the more realistic, caused Eren to feel incredibly uncomfortable. He felt like he was in a horror movie. 

After Levi had indulged in a few seconds of laughing, those seconds passing at an incredibly slow rate for the brunette beside him, he moved to run the back of his wrist against his forehead as if he had worked up a sweat. 

“Oh my God—You’ve _got_ to be kidding me!” He laughed again, throwing his head back while his eyes flickered closed. “Yeager, I’m sorry but your sister is absolutely pathetic.”

Eren didn’t know what to do. He felt like running. He felt like pushing past Levi, letting himself out the door and sprinting down the hall without looking back. He was honestly frightened by the way his captain was acting. 

Once Levi had finally collected himself, letting his head drop to take a much needed breath before lifting it back up to meet Eren’s very afraid eyes, he found himself needing to give a better explanation. 

“The reason why your sister didn’t make it onto the guard was because she had a shitty attitude.” Levi scoffed. “During rehearsal, she was a show off and acted like she was some kind of God—like she was too good for anyone around her. She wouldn’t even follow my instructions. I can see that part of her still hasn’t changed.” 

Eren was silent. He didn’t want to believe what Levi was saying. He wanted to believe his sister, his family. Mikasa wouldn’t lie to him, would she? As much as he wanted to side with Mikasa, Levi was right. She was very confident of herself, and sometimes, she did come across as a show-off. But that was only because she was passionate. 

“But, she said that the only reason why you let Petra on the team was because you’ve known her for a long time…” Eren insisted, hoping that someway, somehow, he’d be able to prove his sister right.

Levi only sighed in response, giving his head a shake from side to side. “Even though it’s true that I’ve known Petra longer than most, I allowed her to join my team because she’s a hard worker.” He explained. “She worked her ass off to catch up with the others.”

With a roll of his shoulders, Levi stepped to the side, resting the flag poles against the wall. He studied them for a moment before his shoulder began to shake with a silent sort of laughter. “What the hell does being gay even have to do with being sexist?” He breathed in disbelief. “I’ve never heard of a gay man hating women because of his sexuality. That’s just fucking stupid.”

Eren was shaking. Had Mikasa really lied to him? He couldn’t believe it. But everything was there, laid out for him by the accused man himself. Either Mikasa was horribly mistaken, or she was hiding something else. That was something that Eren would have to figure out later. 

Now, he had to focus on calming his racing heart that only accelerated as he watched Levi pivot on his heel to walk toward him with a set of incredibly narrowed grey hues. 

“Say, Eren… You look pretty shocked.” He began slowly, arching one brow as he only inched closer to the terribly shaken brunette across the way. “You wouldn’t happen to be uncomfortable with the idea that I might be gay, would you?” 

Levi was close.

So close.

 _Too_ close.

With the way that Levi arched his neck upward, Eren could feel his hot, steady breath cascade across the exposed skin of his own neck. If Levi would have taken one more step forward, their bodies would have been pressed up right against one another. That fact alone made Eren’s heart thump against his chest. He had parted his lips to allow his tongue to wet the outer corner of his mouth. That was a horrible idea. He was only greeted with Levi’s breath ghosting over his lips and into his mouth as the captain eased up onto the tips of his toes. Eren quickly snapped his lips shut at that feeling.

“Well?” Levi whispered lowly. 

Eren had been around gay people before. Hell, his own best friend just came out not too long ago. If Levi _was_ gay, what would it matter? Why was his heart acting up like this? 

After clearing his throat, Eren was able to swallow to effectively take control of his lost voice. His brow creased as he allowed a nervous laugh to part his lips again. 

“N-no, of course not.” He breathed. “Being gay… Isn’t a problem.”

Levi’s eyes narrowed a fraction after Eren had finished speaking. He took a moment to stare into those vulnerable bright green eyes in silence, taking that moment for all that it was worth before he swiftly eased away from the tense teen to collect his flags.

“Good.” He replied coldly over his shoulder. “Now let’s get to practicing.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I decided that I'm going to start doing chapter updates on every Friday! My friend updates her story Feathers and Follies(another ereri AU) on Fridays, so I might as well do the same. Plus it works well with my schedule so I might as well just commit. 
> 
> Anyway, thank you all for continuing to read! I hope you enjoyed this chapter. As always, I'm tracking the tack "fic: spinning the flags of freedom" on Tumblr and you can follow me at p-jean.tumblr.com! 
> 
> I look forward to hearing your responses!


	8. Singles

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi shows Eren how to stretch for the first time. After the color guard captain nearly pulls Eren's arms out of their sockets, they go over warm-ups with flag. Levi tells Eren that the goal for today is to be able to toss a flag. He's mortified by the idea. After rehearsal, the two go back to Levi's apartment and discuss the show concept for this year's show.

Levi had lead Eren to a small ballroom space on the first floor of the apartment complex. It was a room for gatherings, really. For special events and celebrations. But today, it was being used for color guard practice. Eren had wondered how Levi had been granted access to such a room, and he simply explained that “his parents were good friends with the owners of the apartment complex and granted him access to pretty much anything”. 

Levi made his way to the front of the room, setting his flags down near the wall and slipping his phone out of his pocket. He couldn’t very well start rehearsal without some kind of music. After choosing a song, another number by of those weird indie artists, the captain used the speaker of his iPhone to project music throughout the gathering hall. He set the device on a nearby table before walking closer to the awkward teen across the way.

“Before we start, we need to stretch out.” Levi explained as he moved to take a seat upon the carpeted floor. “Just follow me to the best of your ability.”

Levi spread his legs apart in the shape of a “v”. With one arm moving to gracefully hover above his head, he leaned to his left to allow the muscles of his sides and core to stretch out. Eren figured the movement was easy enough, but once he moved to spread his own legs, he realized he was not nearly as flexible as the raven before him. 

Each stretch that Levi performed seemed simple. His expression was calm, seemingly unfazed as his body tilted lower and lower. Eren, on the other hand, was in physical pain with every new stretch. He couldn’t touch his own toes, let alone touch his nose to his kneecaps. He was thankful that Levi wasn’t watching him, or else he surely would have been poked at for the painful expression on his face. 

It was when Levi moved to sit in his right split that Eren’s eyes grew wide with horror. He made it look so easy… Did he even have a penis? It seemed impossible to sit that way without causing some amount of damage to the area _down there_.

“I-I can’t do that--!” Eren whispered, his voice shaking in fear. Not only could he not, but he didn’t even want to try. It looked far too painful.

Levi tilted his head up, his ebony fringe scattering across his forehead and into his piercing grey hues. His eyes narrowed in irritation as he stared back at the trembling teen before him. “You’re right—You won’t be able to do it if you don’t _try_.” He breathed. “Just do your best for now without breaking your legs.”

Eren bit his lip. He knew he had to follow Levi’s orders. It was in his own best interest if he didn’t want to get beaten. With a sharp inhale, the brunette extended his right leg forward, his heel digging into the carpet while his left moved behind him. While his right leg remained straight, his left was bent, almost as if he were in a low lunge. Eren hissed in pain as he tried to straighten the limb out. It was no use.

“I told you not to break yourself.” Levi cut in lowly. “Don’t move anymore. Just sit like that for a while.”

Eren’s teeth moved to latch onto the inner layer of his cheek while he gave another soft nod. The pose hurt like hell, but if it would help him become a better dancer or whatever, then the pain would surely pay off in the end. 

Seconds passed, but to Eren who was struggling to stay in such an awkward position, those seconds felt like hours. When Levi moved to switch onto his left split, Eren was hit with a very brief moment of relief. When he realized that he, too, would have to move into the left split, his heart was heavy with defeat. Either way, he eased himself back, this time sending his left leg forward and his right leg back. The pain was numbing now. He almost didn’t mind it. Eren used the quiet music that echoed throughout the room to tune out the voices in the back of his head that were telling him he wouldn’t be able to walk tomorrow morning.

“Alright, come over here.” Were the words from Levi’s mouth that caused Eren’s head to flick up. The captain had already moved himself out of his flawless split and had spread his legs back into that all too familiar “v” shape. “Put your feet against mine and grab hold of my hands.”

Wait, just what was Levi planning? Was he going the physically pull Eren’s arms right off of his shoulders? He must have seen the brunette’s fear in his wide emerald hues before he rolled his eyes and scoffed under his breath. “I’m going to help you stretch out, that’s all.”

Hesitantly, Eren followed Levi’s beckoning fingers and inched himself forward. His legs were practically shaking as he moved to press his feet against the captain’s own. When he joined hands with Levi, he was surprised at the incredibly cold temperature of his hands. Levi tightened his grip on Eren’s palms before he tilted his upper half backward at an agonizingly slow pace. 

“Tell me when it hurts.”

Oh, but it already hurt. Eren’s teeth ground against one another as he was slowly pulled forward, his chest lowering with each slowly passing second. The inner muscles of his thighs were screaming for him to stop. But he knew he couldn’t say anything now. Levi had hardly moved him at all. But one particular pull caused his muscles to strain just a little too much. 

“Holy shit—“ Eren hissed, instantly moving to lift himself up against Levi’s pull. That hadn’t been a good idea. As soon as he flinched upward, Levi had sent him back down. Eren groaned in pain as his eyelids flew shut in attempt to chase away the burning feeling in his legs. 

“The pain is good for you.” Levi replied softly. It was amazing how he seemed so unfazed by the withering boy before him. He had experienced the same thing all too many times before. In fact, stretching out new members had been one of his favorite past times. As he dared to lean backward just a little more, his lips curved upward into a satisfied smirk. He could hear a distinct popping noise come from the cartilage of Eren’s arms. The fact that the brunette didn’t whimper at the sound was amazing.

“Say, Yeager…” Levi began casually. “Have you ever stretched like this before?”

“Obviously not…” Eren breathed, his voice cracking against his will. In truth, Eren wasn’t one to stretch. In gym class he half-assed all of the warm ups and stretches. He figured that since he hadn’t injured himself yet, there was absolutely no point in stretching at all. In Eren’s mind, his body was a tank. He could handle anything. Well, he was quickly learning that the one thing his body couldn’t handle were Levi’s incredibly painful stretches. 

Levi clicked his tongue against his teeth in dissatisfaction. “That just won’t do.” He sighed. “Stretching is incredibly important. If you don’t do it, and if you don’t do it /right/, you’ll blow out your knee or strain something.” Releasing Eren’s hands, the captain leaned back once more, pressing his palms to the floor and arching his back. “Now, I expect you to be doing these stretches every day, even when there’s no practice.” Levi concluded. “Do you understand?”

Even though the task of stretching every day sounded incredibly annoying, and even more, painful, Eren was forced to agree with a sigh and a half-hearted nod. After all, Levi was experienced. He was only instructing Eren to do these things for his health.

“Great.” With that, Levi guided himself off of the floor and instructed Eren to follow after him. It took him a while, but Eren was able to push himself off of the floor and hobble over to Levi, who was back at the front of the room. In a flash, he turned back, all but shoving a flag into Eren’s hand. Once that was taken care of, he took hold of his own.

“So, we’re going to start with simple warm-up exercises. I’m going to be picky today, so that should take more than enough time. After that, I’m going to teach you how to toss a single.” Levi explained.

Keeping up with the warm-ups sounded like a challenge all in its own. Tossing… The idea of tossing a flag made Eren’s head spin. Levi could tell that Eren was already fretting over the idea with just one look at him. He could have rolled his eyes. He could have told Eren to “wipe that ugly look off of his face”. But instead, Levi decided to be sympathetic. He understood all too well the challenges of catching up to the rest of the color guard. 

“Don’t look so scared.” He breathed. “I’m confident that you’ll do just fine. If you listen to me and pay attention, you’ll get it. You won’t even hurt yourself. I promise.”

The simple idea that Levi cared enough to calm his worried heart moved Eren. It was an amazing change of pace, compared to the intimidating aura he emitted during regular rehearsal. All of this time, Eren had been convinced that Levi was some kind of robot—feeding off of his pain to fuel his power as a captain. But that was hardly the case. 

He was pushing Eren because he knew that he was capable. He had potential, and that was something Levi had seen in him ever since they had met back in their freshman year of marching. Eren was truly passionate and dedicated with everything he decided to take on. He was incredible with his trombone, and soon enough, he would be incredible with a flag. 

After realizing this, Eren nodded. It was a slow, hesitant nod, but it was still enough to bring a smile of satisfaction to Levi’s lips. 

“Perfect.” He breathed. “Now let’s get started.”

They had started by going over the coning exercise for a quick refresher. Thankfully, that was one of the easier exercises and Eren was able to remember it with ease. After defining a few tricky angles, he was set. He could perform the exercise on Levi’s counts with ease, and he didn’t even need the captain in front of him doing the movements in time with him for a reference. Eren was truly proud of himself.

After that, it was onto drop spins. That was even easier, until Levi had instructed that he wanted Eren to try what was called “double time”. This more excelled version of drop spins required Levi to teach him a new hand placement. That alone had taken longer than what Eren had liked. It was a little awkward, how he would have to grab the pole when it was flat, with two hands pressed together and thumbs facing opposite directions as opposed to grabbing the pole when it was vertical and having both of his thumbs either facing up or down. But after the struggle, Eren was able to do the double time drop spins just as fluidly as the regular ones. Levi had instructed him to do one hundred without stopping, and although sometimes he fell out of tempo with Levi’s steady clapping and his arms hurt like hell, he did pretty well.

Nearly an hour and a half had passed since their rehearsal began. Now, it was time for Eren to learn an exercise Levi had yet to teach him. This one was called “pole hits”. In this exercise, Eren would have to toss his flag at different angles. They weren’t actual tosses, however, only half rotations to the next angle. Levi had shown him the exercise once through before it was his turn to try. He would have to start with his flag pole at right shoulder, then toss it until he caught it at an angle from his shoulder to his hip. After that, he would toss the flag until he caught it sideways, parallel to the ground. From there, he would toss it to another angle. Finally, from the final angle he would toss it until it he caught it back at right shoulder. 

When Levi performed this exercise, it seemed so simple. Each time he caught his flag, his hands slapped against the pole, causing a loud rattle of plastic against flesh to echo throughout the room. His posture was strong, and that was what Levi claimed to be the key of performing that particular exercise. “Keep your core tight and engaged” he had said. 

The first couple of attempts were hilarious. Eren had actually caused Levi to laugh. He hadn’t been putting enough force behind his half-tosses, and the flag would simply move out of his hands and straight to the ground. Eren hated the loud sound of the pole thudding against the floor. It made him cringe every time. But after Levi had instructed him to use more force, he was able to catch the toss. Now all he had to work on was catching the flag in the perfect angle. 

After many tries, a total of ten different attempts at the exercise as a whole, Eren had finally gotten it. Levi’s only final critique was that his catches needed to be stronger. That was an easy enough fix. “Pull the pole apart as you catch it.” He instructed. Not literally, of course. Levi had simply meant for Eren to have a tight grip on the pole. 

Now that he had learned all of the warm-up exercises, it was time for the final item on the checklist that Eren had been dreading ever since Levi had told him the agenda: Tossing. Sure, he had tossed during the pole hits, but those were so small that he couldn’t justify actually counting them as tosses. 

As Levi moved to pick up his flag, turning back to face Eren with the pole at a right-angle position, the brunette felt his heart plummet into his stomach. He didn’t want to toss. He was feeling confident earlier, but as soon as he watched Levi set up for his release, that feeling was chased away and replaced with fear. What if he hit himself? Or worse—what if he hit Levi? 

“To toss a single, start with the left hand in between the tapes on the pole.” Levi began, moving his hand to the appropriate area. “With your right, put it a third of the way down the silk with your knuckles facing the ground.” After the other hand was moved, Levi lifted his head to look into Eren’s fearful hues. “Your left hand is going to be pushing, while your right hand moves up to release. This happens at the same time, but it’s very important you push down hard with your left hand. If your right hand does all the work, you’ll develop problems with your wrist.”

All of this was a lot to take in for Eren. He felt like his mind was spinning. No, it wasn’t just his mind—it was the room. His body was swaying from side to side as a familiar nauseating feeling consumed the pits of his stomach. 

“When you release, make sure to keep your left hand pressed against your thigh and your right hand up in the air, palm facing out. It looks pretty that way. I don’t want to see you with claws in the air, anticipating the catch.” Levi continued on. “Here, watch me.” 

In a second, he had slammed his left hand down while bringing his right hand up into the air. The flag spun around once in the air, finding its way easily back into Levi’s skilled hands. He had caught it in the same position as where he had tossed it from, only after catching, his upper half seemed much more strong. Eren was amazed at the sight. There was no way he would be able to toss as perfectly as Levi. Not now, and maybe not ever. 

“I want you to try now.”

Eren was snapped out of his daze by these words. His heart thumped roughly against his chest as he tightened his already ready grip around his flag. He had matched Levi’s hand positioning as he had showed him earlier. He bit his lip, staring down at the now seemingly menacing flag in his hands. He was scared. His death grip on the flag made it impossible for him to release, let alone toss the thing up into the air. 

With a deep breath, Eren closed his eyes. He needed a moment—something, anything that could calm him down. He was searching for the right words when Levi’s gentle voice echoed throughout his head. 

_I’m confident that you’ll do just fine. If you listen to me and pay attention, you’ll get it. You won’t even hurt yourself. I promise._

If Levi believed in him, why couldn’t Eren believe in himself? He was just being stupid. Of course he could toss a flag. He could do anything he put his mind to.

Everything that happened next was a flash before his eyes. He slammed his left hand down with a force, causing his thigh to jiggle beneath his palm while his right hand guided the flag up into the air. His eyes were focused on the swirl of silk above his head, and before he knew it, he had caught it. Even though he had to take one miniscule step forward in order to catch the flag, he had done it. He had tossed a single, and he hadn’t hurt himself _or_ Levi!

“Well, well—“ Levi began with a satisfied smirk painted across his lips. “It looks like I’ve found myself a natural. I knew I picked you for a good reason. Good job, Yeager.”

Receiving praise from Levi was like a gift from above. Never in his life had Eren felt so incredibly proud of himself. He had overcome one of his biggest fears in a matter of seconds and it never felt so great. He was so happy he felt like he could run laps around the room.

“Wow…” Eren laughed. His lips had curved upward into the stupidest of smiles as he looked back at Levi. “I never thought that would happen.”

“Me either.” Levi admitted with a soft chuckle. “I mean, I knew you could do it, just not on your first try. I can’t remember the last time I’ve seen a newbie toss a flag like that.”

Eren moved one hand from his flag to rub the back of his neck as his eyes narrowed bashfully. Now Levi was just flattering him. “Whatever.” Eren laughed.

“I’m being honest.” Levi insisted. “It took the rest of my color guard hours before they could even catch the flag with one hand.”

“…Really?” Eren whispered. That just didn’t seem right. Eld, Gunther, Oluo and Petra were all so skilled. How could he have learned how to toss a flag quicker than them? Eren only hoped that Levi wouldn’t make it a big deal tomorrow at rehearsal. He didn’t want his chances of befriending the group to be ruined simply because he learned how to toss a flag in only one try.

“Really. Now—We need to perfect your form.” These words from Levi’s lips quickly brought the chocolate haired teen down from his dreamy state and back to reality. That was right. He wasn’t _perfect_ at tossing, and Levi wouldn’t allow anything else but perfection. 

The rest of their rehearsal time together was spent correcting minor details in Eren’s tossing form. His hands, the height of his toss, the speed of the rotation, and mainly, his little problem with moving up onto his tip toes as he tossed his flag. It was a problem a lot of rookies hand, apparently. To fix the problem, Levi performed a sort of trust exercise with Eren where he would lay on the ground and hold onto the brunette’s ankles to keep him from inching forward onto his toes as he released his flag. That tactic seemed to do the trick, considering Eren wanted him off of the ground as quickly as possible. He didn’t want to mess up and accidentally hit Levi in the face with his flag. But toss after toss, Eren continued to catch his flag at just the right angle. He was amazed by his own talent, and in turn, Levi was as well.

After Eren’s tosses were perfected, Levi awarded his patient guard member by inviting him back up to his apartment for something to drink. He was sure Eren must have been parched after all of his hard work. Levi had asked Eren what he wanted to drink, and he almost instantly requested a can of cola. Levi wasn’t much of a soda drinker himself, but thankfully his parents were. They had left behind a case before they left for Australia. After Levi handed Eren the can, he instantly cracked the lid and began to guzzle the fizzy drink.

Levi had moved to the other side of the counter, across from where Eren had sat on a bar stool as he drank. The captain rested his elbows against the counter’s surface and leaned forward, cupping his cheeks with his palms. “I decided on a show concept just before you arrived.” He began, desiring to fill the void silence in the room. Either that, or he just couldn’t stand the disgusting sound of Eren gulping his drink.

“Oh, really?” Eren replied after setting the can of cola on the counter. His eyes were filled with curiosity. He had been itching to know what Levi had in mind since the day he joined the squad. “What is it?”

“I want to do a vampire-themed show.” 

Well, that was far from what Eren was expecting. In truth, he had anticipated Levi to choose something more sophisticated. But, he must have had his reasoning for the choice behind this theme.

“Don’t give me that look.” Levi sighed as he moved to push a stray lock of his ebony hair behind his ear. Whoops. Eren must have done a bad job of hiding his skeptical expression. “This type of show will get major attention from the audience and the judges. They want something theatrical.”

“So what does this theme entail, exactly? Are we all going to wear vampire fangs and capes?”

Levi rolled his eyes at Eren’s sarcastic remark. “We’re not going to wear capes. That would interfere with flag work.” He answered. “But, I do think wearing fangs will give us a ton of points for general effect. Judges love little details like that. Besides…” Levi inched closer, leaning across the counter top as his eyes narrowed playfully. “Don’t you think vampires are hot?”

Eren leaned back, distancing himself from the raven as an awkward smile tugged at the corners of his lips. “I mean—Yeah, vampires are hot as long as they’re not Edward Cullen.”

“Obviously we’re not going to look like Edward Cullen.” Levi scoffed, leaning back to his natural stance and pressing one hand to the base of his neck. “I was thinking of something more classic. Like Dracula, maybe? But more sensual.” 

Eren did his best to pretend like this conversation wasn’t making him feel completely uncomfortable with a nod of his head. “What kind of music would our show have?”

“Definitely some kind of metal song.” Levi replied all too quickly. “Either that, or I was thinking about creating some kind of mash-up of a few different songs. That sort of thing has been becoming more popular in the world of winter guard. Don’t ask me why.”

“A mash-up? That actually sounds pretty cool.” Eren added as he lifted the can of cola up to his lips. “If you need any help with music, I have a pretty extensive iTunes library.”

Levi arched one interested brow at that. “Is that right? How about I just call you DJ-Yeager from now on?”

Eren shook his head as a gentle chuckle rattled his chest. “As cool as that sounds, I think it’d be best if you just call me Eren.”

“That’s right—“ Levi breathed through a heavily exaggerated gasp. “I almost forgot you had a first name. I was so convinced that your name was just ‘Yeager’ after staring at the back of your letterman for so long.”

Eren was forced to emit yet another laugh. Who would have guessed that Levi actually had a sense of humor? “Yeah, it’s amazing the things you find out about a person once you get to know them, huh?”

Levi’s expression softened then, his chest falling with a soft exhale. He tilted his head upward, a faint smile tugging at the corners of his lips as his ashy hues met with Eren’s own blue-green orbs. “Yeah, it is.” He agreed with a breathy sigh.

The room fell silent after that statement. It was almost eerie how quiet Levi’s apartment was after such heartfelt words had escaped his thin lips. Eren was left wondering just what the hell was going through his mind. His eyes seemed glassy, dreamy, even. They didn’t even look like the harsh hues that belonged to Levi’s pale face. 

But just as Eren was about to break that silence to ask what was on Levi’s mind, the raven beat him to it, lifting his arms off of the counter top and moving away from the teen across from him. “It’s getting late.” He whispered. “You should probably go home now.”

Eren took a quick glance at the clock. It was already past seven. Yeah, going home was probably a good idea. He still had homework he needed to finish. After taking one final sip from his cola, he pulled himself off of the bar stool and made his way over to the garbage where he promptly tossed the can away. 

“Thanks for helping me out today.” Eren had said once he was back at Levi’s side. “I think I’ll be a lot more comfortable at rehearsal tomorrow, now that I know what I’m doing.”

Levi tilted his head to the side, a small, but genuine smile spreading across his lips as he reached over to give his new guard member a pat on the back. “It’s my job.” He replied simply. “Now get the hell out of my apartment before I force you out myself.”

“Okay, okay—“ Eren laughed, holding up his hands in defense as he inched his way backward to the entry way. He turned over his shoulder and moved down to crouch near the floor. He slipped on his shoes and straightened his letterman before standing up again. “See you tomorrow?” Eren breathed as he reached for the doorknob.

Levi replied with one prompt nod. “You better not be late again, Eren.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I really apologize for not sticking to my deadline! College started up again, and I have way more homework than what I was actually anticipating. After working so hard all week, I had no motivation to write. I hope you all don't mind this chapter being two days late! This coming week, I'll do my very best to make sure the new chapter is updated on Friday for real.
> 
> Funny story though-- I didn't have a flag handy so I was practicing hand positioning with my rifle to try and explain the warm-ups better in this chapter. Then I got distracted and started practicing some rifle work from my own winter guard show this year. Oops--
> 
> As always, you can find me on tumblr at p-jean.tumblr.com. Also, don't forget to post in the tag 'fic:spinning the flags of freedom'! I hope you all enjoy this chapter and keep on reading!


	9. Silence

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren returns home to a strangely silent home after practice with Levi. Much to his surprise, he is able to find Mikasa. The two have a mildly sweet heart-to-heart. Later, Armin informs Eren about a chance of a lifetime. However, Eren isn't sure if Armin's prediction will actually become a reality.

It was rare that Eren came home to a quiet house, regardless of the hour. It always seemed as if there was someone up. Whether it be his mother doing household chores, his father doing paper work, or Mikasa listening to her music too loudly in her room. It seemed as if there was never a moment of silence in the Yeager household. But the night that Eren had come home from Levi’s apartment, it was quite the opposite.

Only the sound of the car keys clinging together echoed throughout the hall, the closing of the door behind Eren’s back following suit. There was no running water from the kitchen, no loud phone conversation from his father’s office, and certainly not the sound of a pumping bass from Mikasa’s room. It was rather eerie walking into a home where Eren could actually hear his footsteps against the hard wood floor. 

Most often, Eren would head straight for his room after any kind of after-school activity. He was always feeling exhausted by the time he finally got the chance to take off his backpack and slip off his shoes. But tonight, he felt the need to investigate the reason for silence. 

The brunet crept into the living room, and much to his surprise, it was empty. No one was sitting on the sofa with a book or a newspaper in their hands. Next, Eren checked the kitchen. Empty. His dad’s seat, where he finished all of his crossword puzzles, was unfilled. The study, it too was unoccupied. Upon climbing up the staircase, Eren found his parent’s room door wide open, neither mom nor dad inside. But after looking across the way, he could clearly see a steady stream of light through the space below Mikasa’s closed door. Thank God, at least someone was home.

Eren approached the door cautiously, mindful the weary terms he and his sister had left off on before he drove to Levi’s apartment. He rapped his knuckles against the wood of the door, and waited for an answer. He received a groan from the other side. With a shake of his head, he took that as his cue to come in.

Mikasa was laying on her bed and, for once in her life, wearing headphones over her head. Was she feeling ill? As the flutist set aside the book that her hands had once been preoccupied with, she uncrossed her legs and sat up. Giving Eren a brief scowl, she shrugged off her headphones and set them aside. Eren didn’t take that look to heart for a second. He was much too worried of the mental health of his sister.

He approached her bedside in a rush, sitting next to her feet and reached a hand over to press against her forehead. Mikasa’s eyes narrowed at the gesture as she attempted to dodge his touch, but Eren’s reflexes were quicker than that. He made a point of pressing his palm against Mikasa’s skin, pushing her bangs aside and squinting at her pale complexion.

“Eren, what are you doing?” She breathed.

“I’m checking to see if you have a fever.” Eren replied, his expression determined, focused, and most of all, serious. Eren was often accused of overreacting over simple situations, and the apparent health issues of his sister were no exception.

Mikasa scoffed at her brother’s response, raising a calm and composed hand to gently to get his clammy hands off of her forehead. She couldn’t afford to have any blemishes. She worked far too hard to make sure that her complexion was flawless.

“Eren, what are you talking about?” She breathed, her eyes softening as she looked into the brunet’s emerald hues that flickered with concern. “I don’t have a fever. I’m perfectly fine.”

“Oh yeah?” Eren countered with a breathy laugh. “Then why are you listening to your music with headphones, huh? You never do that!”

Mikasa simply rolled her eyes as a delicate chuckle parted her glossed lips. “For the record, I can listen to my music however I’d like.” She stated matter-of-factly. “If that includes using headphones, then I’m sure as hell going to use them.”

Eren’s eyes narrowed as he shifted away from the flutist before him. There had to have been a reason why she insisted on keeping quiet, but clearly Mikasa wasn’t in the mood to talk about anything of the sort. So instead of being his usual stubborn self, Eren decided to end the argument with a shrug of his shoulders.

“Fine.” He sighed. But after taking a look around the room, his lips had parted again, a question blooming on the tip of his tongue. “Um, where’s mom and dad?”

Mikasa took a moment to bat her lashes against her cheeks. Her expression was blank, as if she had no idea that their parents weren’t actually in the house. Either that, or she honestly didn’t know the answer. But after licking her lower lip, her brow creasing in concentration, she was able to recall the words that their mother had spoken to her over the phone.

“Oh, that’s right.” She sighed, straightening her back against the frame of her headboard. “Mom said that her and Dad were going to a movie tonight. Apparently they had been wanting to see it for a while.” After glancing at the clock on her nightstand, Mikasa blinked again. “They should be home soon, I think.”

Well, that was a relief. At least Eren now knew that his parents hadn’t been killed by some crazy murderer without his sister knowing. But the chances of that actually happening in their neighborhood were highly unlikely, anyway.

“Oh, okay.”

There was an awkward silence then between the two siblings. Mikasa’s eyes were focused on her kneecaps, exposed by the tattered material of her light wash denim jeans. Eren’s eyes jumped from object to object. A poster of Mikasa’s favorite band on the wall, her desk piled up with textbooks and good reads alike, her hamper of dirty laundry, and finally her collection of perfume on her dresser. Girls were weird. But after quite some time of silence, only a few shifts of fabric and clearing of throats interrupting the quiet, Mikasa was the first to speak up again. 

“So, how was your practice with Levi?” 

The way that she had spoken Levi’s name with such a venomous tone made Eren physically cringe. But, a question was a question and he couldn’t leave it hang. 

“Oh, um… It was pretty good, I guess. I learned how to toss a single and do a few other things.” He replied sheepishly. His hand had moved up to brush the back of his head as his shoulders sank forward. He felt awful for talking about Mikasa’s apparent nemesis so positively. 

“That’s good.”

Well, at least her reaction hadn’t been too terrible. But then again, Mikasa was an expert at concealing her true emotions. Surely she was burning with hatred and anger on the inside. 

The way that Mikasa had turned her head away from Eren didn’t sit will with the brunet. He felt like he was betraying his sister for acting even remotely friendly to the man that had denied her of joining the color guard. But, Eren had learned something from his practice with Levi. He had a feeling that if he helped his sister realize the real reason why she hadn’t been accepted, she might not feel so bad. In fact, maybe if she tried hard enough, she could have a second chance at joining the guard. But, both Levi and Mikasa were so unpredictable. The outcome could really go either way.

“Hey, um—“ Eren began, his body stiffening as he caught his sister’s attention. Her eyes looked so hopeful that it stopped him in his tracks. He tried to speak again, but sound was caught in the back of his throat. He took a moment to swallow before he shifted closer to Mikasa, lowering his head as he felt his voice return to him. 

“I actually talked to Levi about what you said to me.” Uh oh. That probably wasn’t the best way to start.

Mikasa’s eyes instantly narrowed, their pleasant nature quickly being replaced with a look of betrayal. Before she could part her lips, for Eren was sure that she would release her rage in the form of yelling, the brunet quickly continued on.

“But don’t worry! It’s actually really good because we talked about you and why you didn’t, um… you know.” Eren felt bad for even mentioning it. He felt like he was just rubbing dirt into Mikasa’s already very apparent wounds. 

“Levi told me that the reason why he didn’t let you on the color guard wasn’t because you were a girl, it was because of something else…” Eren whispered. His hand moved to rub the back of his elbow, pulling his opposing arm close to his core. “He said that you had a bad attitude during try-outs… I mean, you’re always really confident in what you do, and that’s super awesome.” Eren found himself laughing awkwardly as he rubbed his arm over his sweatshirt. “I’m actually really jealous of you because of that. But… Levi felt like you were a little too over the top. He said that you were kind of acting like a show off…”

Mikasa half expected her brother to continue on. She leaned forward, actually interested in what Eren had to say. But when his lips had snapped shut, his eyes turning away from hers and returning to their search about her bedroom, she felt deflated. Really, that was it? That was the only reason why she hadn’t been accepted? It was so simple… She felt like kicking herself.

A breathy chuckle parted Mikasa’s lips as she lowered her head in defeat. “So that’s why…” She whispered through faintly smiling lips. “I had been telling myself that he was a sexist all this time to make myself feel better… But really, that was the only reason why?” Mikasa lifted her head up, solely looking for her brother’s response. It was a slow nod.

“I had a feeling that might have been the reason…” Mikasa admitted with a sigh. “But, I can’t help but showing off. I spent so much time watching videos online so that I could know what to do at try-outs. I was really proud of myself, Eren.”

Eren nodded in response, quickly shuffling across the bed to place a comforting hand against his sister’s shoulder. “That’s really great and all, but the point of try-outs is for them to _teach_ you.” He breathed. “Levi is the kind of person that wants to teach people. Everyone on his team is really humble… They accept his criticism, and if you want to be apart of that team, so do you.” 

Mikasa bit her lip. In truth, she had always had a hard time with accepting any form of criticism. She prided herself in being the best that she could be—she wouldn’t stand for anything else. She was strong, and she was confident. Mikasa liked to believe that she was stronger than anyone else. It would be a challenge for her to come to terms with the fact that she wasn’t. 

Mikasa’s eyes met with Eren’s, and in that moment, they returned to their hopeful nature. Her ashy hues were practically glimmering with hope as she moved closer to her brother. 

“Eren… Do you think that there’s a chance for me to try again?” She whispered.

Almost instantly, Eren replied with a firm nod of his head. “I’m sure of it.” He replied strongly. “The color guard is still in need of new members… If you prove to Levi that you can listen to his instructions and work well with the rest of the team, I’m sure that you can make the team.” 

Mikasa released a sigh of relief after hearing her brother’s words. Her body leaned back against the frame of her headboard again while the faintest of smile spread across her lips.

“I’ll do it…” She whispered, her eyes slipping closed as she spoke. “I’ll prove to him that I can do anything he asks.”

By the time Eren’s parents had returned home, the brunet had made himself comfortable in his bedroom. He assumed his regular position at his desk, booting up Skype first before he launched World of Warcraft. He was sure that Connie would have a bone to pick with him for not being online as often as he used to. But before Eren could even sign into his server of choice, his computer’s speakers began to chime with the familiar jingle of an incoming Skype call. Upon squinting at the box in the middle of his screen, he was surprised to see that it was Armin who was calling him. Eren clicked the green answer button right away.

“Armin?” He breathed, not giving the other boy a chance to speak. “Why are you calling me on Skype? Can’t you just text me or something?”

Armin cleared his throat, catching his breath before he answered to his best friend’s question. “It’s… It’s more important than that.” God, with the way that he was panting so much, Eren was convinced that Armin had just finished running a marathon. 

“Dude, you sound awful.” Eren chuckled. “What’s so important?”

“I found out on Facebook just now that Erwin is throwing a big house party on Friday night.”

“Yeah, so?” Eren scoffed, leaning back against his chair as he moved his fingers to begin typing in his account information to sign onto his server. “Erwin throws parties like, every other Friday night. What’s the big deal?”

“The big deal is…” Armin inhaled a deep breath before continuing on. “Erwin always invites Levi to his house parties.”

“…And?” 

“Now that you’re in the color guard, you’ll probably get invited, too.”

Eren’s fingers stopped in their tracks after Armin had finished speaking. There was a brief pause in their call, neither boy speaking, only Armin’s ever heavy breathing to be heard. 

Eren, Armin and Mikasa had been dreaming about attending one of Erwin’s infamous parties ever since they entered high school with him. The guy was rich. His parties were filled with good food, good music, and best of all, _great_ drinks. Some of the craziest stories originated from these parties that Erwin held. But sadly, Erwin’s invites were exclusively to his friends and his friends’ friends. Even though Erwin was in band, he had a huge circle of friends. Eren, Armin and Mikasa were definitely not included in that circle of friendship. 

But now, it seemed as if Eren had a way in. He was a friend of Levi, right? He was on his guard. He had to be. Armin and Mikasa were Eren’s friends, so surely they could come along, too, right?

But he couldn’t get his hopes up just yet. After all, Levi seemed like the type that defined friendship in a very complex way. Eren wasn’t sure if Levi had any _real_ friends at all.

Finally returning their conversation with a scoff, Eren opted to fold his arms over his chest. “Yeah, right.” He breathed. “Just because I’m in the color guard doesn’t mean I’ll get invited, especially if the invitation is through Levi. He dreads every second he has to talk to me. Does he even go to those parties anyway? He doesn’t seem like the type…”

Eren could hear his friend chuckle over the other end of the call. 

“If you and Levi weren’t so close, how would you know whether or not he’s a partier?” Armin countered.

Eren rolled his eyes as he rocked back and forth in his rolling office chair. “Armin, shut up.” He sighed. He was only half-kidding. “I’ve only interacted with Levi a few times. I don’t know him at all. He just… He looks so pissed all the time. There’s no way he’d enjoy himself at a party.”

“Well, maybe he _would_ enjoy himself if he brought you along…” Armin’s voice had escalated into a song as he tempted his friend. 

“Whatever…” Eren sighed once more.

“Hey, don’t sound so sad! There’s always a chance that he’ll invite you. You said he’s unpredictable, right?” Well, at least something Armin had said was reasonably true. “All I’m saying that is that if he invites you, it is your duty as our friend to take both me and Mikasa along with you.”

“Yeah, if that actually happens, I’m sure I’ll be giving you a lot more than just an invite to a stupid party.”

After their call on Skype had ended, after Armin had finished ranting on and on about all the fun he would have at Erwin’s party, Eren was finally able to sign onto his WoW account. Jeez, it only took one and a half hours of listening to his friend ramble about his low expectations for a racy house party. Sometimes Eren was forced to wonder just _why_ Armin had wanted to go to one of Erwin’s parties so badly. He certainly wouldn’t be drinking if he ever got there. 

After logging on, Eren was surprised to see that Connie wasn’t online. Apparently he would be grinding by himself tonight. Well, easier for him. Now he wouldn’t have to share experience points. Connie always slacked off anyway. It was always Eren who had to do most of the heavy lifting, especially in dungeon raids.

But after raising his character a whopping three levels, the brunet was startled by the dinging notification sound that signaled an e-mail on his phone. Honestly, Eren couldn’t remember the last time anyone had sent him an e-mail. Well, not including the constant spam he received from his favorite online stores. 

Standing up from his chair, Eren was forced to stretch his arms above his head. His upper half was incredibly sore. It was no wonder his family always pressured him to get off of the computer and do something active. He waddled over to his bed where he had laid down his cell phone, quickly picking it up into his palm and using his index to slide across the screen to unlock it. His e-mail application automatically launched after that. After reading the sender’s name from the most recent e-mail, Eren’s eyes grew wide with shock. 

Levi  
To: bonerboyyeager@mail.com  
No Subject

Hey Kid.

I know I said that I would only use your e-mail for guard related purposes, but this is the only exception. I’m in kind of a pinch. Just don’t tell any of the others about this, alright?

By now, your friends have probably already told you all about Erwin’s little party on Friday, right? You’re probably thinking; ‘Wow, I really wish I could go to one of those parties.’ A brat like you has probably never been, right?

Well, today you should count your lucky stars. Erwin always invites me to his stupid parties, and I’m really fucking tired of going alone. All of Erwin’s friends are complete idiots. None of the other guard members show up. So, I want you to come with me. 

It’s time for you to experience what a real party is like.  
Had he really been sent the right message? Eren felt like he was living in a dream. There was no _way_ that Levi was actually inviting him to a party. In what world would he actually _enjoy_ Eren’s presence? 

Was Armin able to see into the future? That seemed to be the only logically explanation. 

Either way, this was a once in a lifetime chance. When else would he be invited to such a big party? Eren had to accept the invite while it was still open. With shaking fingers, he clicked the ‘reply’ button and began typing back a short response.

Eren Yeager  
To: captainlevi@mail.com  
Re: No Subject

I’ll meet you there. I hope you don’t mind if I bring some of my friends, too.

Eren never received another e-mail from Levi that night. Apparently, he was very serious about his “only exception” policy. He would just have to wait until he saw Levi the next day at rehearsal for his actual response.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I apologize for the long delay of chapter updates. Isn't it odd how I tell myself I'll meet a deadline, but end up not updating for over two months? School and guard have been really demanding. But now that winter quarter is FINALLY coming to end, I hope that I can start meeting my deadline that I set. I really did miss writing. This verse is really important to me, and I can't wait to continue writing again.
> 
> Thank you all to those who have stuck with me!
> 
> As always, you can post in the 'fic:spinning the flags of freedom' tag on tumblr and follow me, if you'd like! My URL is p-jean.tumblr.com 
> 
> I hope to make another update soon!


	10. Luck

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Eren tells Mikasa and Armin about his e-mail from Levi. The three are ecstatic, but forget that it's only Eren who has an actual invite to Erwin's party. Later at rehearsal, he approaches Levi with high hopes of being able to get his friends on the in. Luck may or may not have been on his side. Once rehearsal is over, Eren and Levi take a car ride to nowhere in particular to talk about the details of Erwin's party. But that ride ends up leading to somewhere special after all.

“You’ll never guess who I got an e-mail from last night.”

It was an interesting way to start off first period. World history was already an incredibly dry subject in itself. What kind of seventeen year old wanted to learn about old men with powdered wigs signing documents in old English? Taking into account that the class started precisely at seven o’clock in the morning, Eren, Armin and Mikasa always had to find a way to make their very first class of the day at least a little bit interesting. 

“I think I can take a guess.” Mikasa sighed. After all, there were only a handful of people who her brother stayed in contact with. “By the way, why the hell were you using your e-mail anyway? Don’t you have a cell phone?”

The comment only earned a muffled giggle from the blonde sitting between the two siblings. 

“Um, for your information e-mail can still be really useful. Not everyone has a cell phone, Mikasa.” Eren fired back, making sure to keep his voice at a hushed whisper as the cranky history teacher took attendance from his battered desk.

“I know for a fact that both you and Levi have cell phones.” Mikasa whispered back as she reached one hand up to tuck a stray lock of her ebony fringe behind her ear.

“Wait, who said that it was Levi who e-mailed me?!” Eren replied, just a little bit too loudly. His high pitched remark caught a few other students’ attention, but thankfully, not his teacher who’s hearing was just a little impaired. 

“Oh, come on.” Mikasa groaned. She leaned back in her plastic desk chair as she reached out to grab her pen. “It’s obvious. You’ve got that stupid excited look in your eyes. Besides, only Levi would be the kind of person that contacts people through _e-mail_. Who does he think he is? Some kind of business man?”

Another quiet laugh from Armin. He was choosing to multitask—listening to his two friends bicker beside him while also studying over his flashcards for the upcoming test on the Industrial Revolution. 

“He uses the e-mail for talking to everyone in the guard, okay? It’s just easier than having to get everyone’s phone numbers…” Eren huffed. 

“So I was right.” Of course, Mikasa always was. “If it was about guard, then this e-mail you’re so excited about probably isn’t as ground shaking as you make it out to be, Eren.”

“It wasn’t about guard.” The way that Eren’s voice dropped an octave was enough to capture the attention of both his sister and the studious blonde beside him. Armin instantly set his white notecards aside and leaned against the confining armrest of his desk-chair combination. Mikasa, who had been clicking her pen to help time pass, set the utensil aside and gave her brother her full attention. Knowing that he possessed both Armin and Mikasa’s attention, Eren allowed a breathy chuckle to part his lips. “Yeah, the e-mail was an invitation to Erwin’s house party on Friday night.”

The silence between the three was earth shaking. Never before had three teenagers been so quiet, at a loss for words. They always had something to gossip about, something to complain about, or something to laugh about. But this discovery was something that _needed_ a moment of pure silence. 

“See, I told you!” Armin was the first to break that silence. He wore a bright smile on his thin lips as he reached over his desk to give Eren a playful shove against his shoulder. “You thought he wouldn’t do it, but I told you that he would!” 

While Eren laughed and Armin continued to fire innocent punches against the brunet’s arm, Mikasa still sat silent. Her brow was furrowed, her greyish hues narrowed in confusion. Her body was frozen and her lips were twitching as if she had something to say. The more she thought, the more that the likelihood of someone like Eren being asked by someone like Levi to a party like Erwin’s seemed more impossible. 

Eren was just a dorky kid who used to play trombone with a slight anger management problem. He wasn’t half bad looking, but his mouth completely took away any attractiveness that he might have possessed. He had no amazing abilities. He was mediocre at playing the trombone. He played video games, sure, but didn’t all teenage boys? He didn’t even do that well at school, and he sure as heck didn’t have a job. What would ever posses Levi to ask him to a party?

“Are you sure it wasn’t a joke?” Mikasa finally cut in, stopping both Eren and Armin’s stupid giggles. 

“That’s kind of harsh…” Armin replied with a set of frowning lips.

Eren, on the other hand, was already developing one of his characteristic glares. With his emerald hues narrowing and his forehead developing wrinkles as he shot his sister a scowl, it was clear that he didn’t appreciate her comment in the slightest.

“Uh, yeah I’m sure.” He huffed, already on the move to retrieve his cell phone that Mikasa had referred to only moments ago. “The e-mail sounded pretty desperate to me. I can even read it to you.” 

Just as the brunet had used his thumb to launch his e-mail app he was startled by a steady tap to his shoulder. The other students who were all secluded in their own small conversations suddenly all had their eyes on Eren. A few quiet chuckles sent a shiver down his spine before the entire class erupted into laughter. His bright eyes grew wide with horror as he watched one bony hand covered with spots of age reached around him, slipping his cell phone out of his grasp. As his name was addressed in a deep baritone, he felt his entire face heat up with embarrassment. Before he could shut his eyes to help tune out the laughter around him, he was greeted with the sight of history teacher’s back, walking back up to his desk with his cell phone in hand. 

“See me after class.” 

Mikasa and Armin were waiting for Eren out in the hall by the time the troubled teenager had retrieved his cell phone from their history teacher’s desk. Luck must have been on his side that day, for he was let off with a mere warning. Having to have his parents come to the school and pick up his phone would not only a hassle, but also an incredible embarrassment that would surely have haunted him for the rest of his life. Needless to say, Eren wore an expression of relief as he exited the history classroom, his cell phone held tight against his chest for safekeeping.

Mikasa eyed her brother with one arched ebony brow as she hid her textbook within her locker. “So, about that e-mail.” She snickered, using her elbow to close the grey metal door that was decorated with various magazine clippings and pictures from throughout the years. “You’re still going to read it to us, right?”

Eren’s eyes narrowed as he gave his cell phone an extra squeeze. “Can you give me a second?” He huffed, stepping forward to push the clarinetist aside to get to his own locker. It was terribly boring compared to Mikasa’s. Eren had no such creative mind to decorate his locker with anything but a sticker that came with his i-Pod. “I’m still recovering from having the _entire_ class laugh at me.” 

Mikasa and Armin shared one collected laugh as Eren began spinning his locker combination. The brunet only furrowed his brow, giving one firm pull on the locker’s lever once he had completed the combination. He shrugged off his backpack, holding it up with one hand and unzipping it with the other. Eren was quick to retrieve his own history book and shove it inside of his locker, not really minding wherever it landed. He didn’t even want to _think_ about History. Once he was finished, he used the palm of his hand to shut the door, releasing a heavy sigh as the metal door rattled from the force of his push. He took one moment to himself, inhaling one slow breath before he turned to his friends that were doing their best to control their laughter. 

“Alright, I’ll tell you about the e-mail.” Eren breathed, bringing his cell phone up and using his thumb to unlock the device. Thankfully, the e-mail was still open from when he had tried to show the two the message not too long ago. Eren gave the words a glance over, his heart fluttering with excitement beneath his chest before he passed the phone over into Armin’s hands first. 

Armin’s hands held tight to Eren’s cell phone as his bright blue eyes scanned the screen. His lips curved upward into a budding smile as he read on and on, and once he had reached the end, Armin gave one little jump as his expression became bright with excitement. He was quick to pass the phone off to Mikasa, who had been trying to read over his shoulder, before the blonde stepped forward and gave Eren one proud pat on the back. “See, Eren!” He whispered, though his voice was filled with joy. “I told you it would happen! God, this is so exciting! You’re going to Erwin’s party!” 

Eren laughed sheepishly as he brought one hand up to brush against the nape of his neck. “Yeah, it’s pretty cool, isn’t it?” He whispered back. “But—I don’t want to be the only one to go. I want you guys to come, too. That’s why I’m going to talk to Levi about it tonight at rehearsal.”

“Really? Oh, Eren that would be so—“ 

Mikasa looked up from the phone then, a skeptical look in her eyes as she passed the device off into her brother’s unexpected hands. “He doesn’t sound very excited to be inviting you.” She sighed, slipping her hands into the short pockets of her acid washed jeans. “I mean, it sounds like you’re kind of a last effort to me. He even said that his other friends didn’t want to go.”

Armin’s body was frozen, meanwhile Eren opted to turn his head over his shoulder and eye his sister with a set of emerald hues that were sharp like daggers. His glare was piercing, strong enough that Mikasa was forced to raise one curious brow. Did her brother really care about Levi’s invitation that much? 

“Hey, I’m just saying.” She replied, lifting her hands up in defense as she took a step or two away from Eren’s intimidating aura. “I don’t want you to go into this thinking that it’s something it’s not.”

“I’m not _thinking_ that it’s anything.” Eren replied, shoving his cell phone into his back pocket before he heaved his backpack back onto his shoulders. “The only thing I was thinking about is how cool it would be for the three of us to finally go to one of Erwin’s parties.” Looking back to Mikasa, his eyes scanning her face for a brief moment before adverting his gaze back to Armin’s much more forgiving eyes. “I mean, isn’t that what we’ve been dreaming of since we entered high school?”

Armin nodded slowly, while Mikasa shifted her weight from her left hip to her right. What Eren was saying had some truth. The three of them had developed a goal to attend one of Erwin’s legendary parties before they graduated, after all. With a sigh, her shoulders collapsed forward and Mikasa was forced to nod her head along with Armin. “Yeah, you’re right.” She huffed. “But this is _Levi_ that we’re talking about. If he ruins the party for us with his negative attitude…”

“He’ll be fine.” Eren insisted. “He’ll probably just go off in a corner and drink by himself, or something… He isn’t really a sociable person. Truth be told, I really have no idea why he wants to go to this party in the first place. But if it’s a free way in, then obviously I’m not going to argue.”

The rest of the day seemed to pass by at a relatively quick pace. At lunch, the trio of friends reverted to their old ways and started dreaming up ideals about Erwin’s party on Friday. The way they were already planning out the night made it seem as if their invitation was already set in stone. But Eren still had to convince Levi to allow his friends to tag along. Eren was the type of person that usually got what he wanted. He was sure that in the end, he, Mikasa and Armin would finally live their dream of attending one Erwin’s infamous parties. Surely Levi had a soft spot in his heart, right?

At least, that was what Eren thought until it was time for rehearsal. Upon first entering, the brunet could already sense that Levi was in a foul mood. If the captain’s intimidating death glare wasn’t enough, it appeared that Eren had arrived just a bit late to the gym. The others were already there—Petra, Eld, Gunther and Oluo. They were running laps around the gym while Levi stood front and center, his arms characteristically crossed over his chest. 

“Eren, you're late.” 

That was Eren’s well-awaited greeting from the strict color guard captain. No friendly smile, no wave of the hand… Not even the other guard members acknowledged the brunet’s presence. They were too caught up in their own conversations to make any notice of him. 

“I-I’m sorry, I didn’t—“

“Run with me.” 

_What?_

That was the last thing that Eren was expecting to come from Levi’s mouth. But judging from the way that he was already stalking forward, his eyes narrowed and fixated as if Eren were his prey, the new color guard member quickly realized that he was all too serious. 

As soon as Levi was close enough, the brunet took off running at a slow jog, the captain following close beside him. It was an easy pace for the both of them. It was precisely what Levi had been searching for. Raking his fingers through his slightly tousled ebony locks. Levi released one heavy grunt from his lips. Eren cringed at the sound. 

“Your lateness is causing me to reconsider your invitation.” Levi murmured over the pounding music that echoed throughout the gym. 

“I’m really sorry—I had no idea that I was running late. I must have gotten stuck in traffic or something, I left on time and—“

“Calm down, Eren.” Levi breathed, his eyes closing shut as he spoke. “I can’t revoke your invitation now. I’ve already confirmed with Erwin that the two of us will be attending his party.” 

Eren’s heart fluttered with excitement beneath his chest. It was official. He would actually be attending Erwin’s party on Friday night. Not just by himself, but with Levi. What would he wear? How would he style his hair? How would he get there? Would he and Levi carpool, or would they arrive separately? Oh, he would have so many stories to tell his friends—

That’s _right_. Eren had _friends_ , and he promised those very friends that he would get them an invite, too. He could leave them out of the party! They had wanted to go to one of Erwin’s house parties just as much as he had. 

“Um, Levi—Actually, I have something to ask—“ 

“Not now.” Levi replied quickly. The song overhead was already coming to an end, signaling that their run was over and it was time to move on to the next exercise. “Talk to me about it during stretches.” 

After the two came to a stop, Levi lifted his hands to his chest and gave them two mighty claps. As the sound echoed throughout the empty space of the gym, the other four members came to a halt as well. Their eyes were unfazed as they looked to Levi, remaining still until the captain gave one single nod of his head. They had a language developed without words. Eren was nowhere near fluent. 

Petra, Eld, Oluo and Gunther all moved at once, all walking toward the nearest wall of the gym. Underneath the basketball hoop hanging from above, the four moved to sit against the wood gym floor. They moved as close as they could to the wall before they each laid down on their backs, spreading their legs up against the wall in a “v” formation. Whatever they were doing, it looked incredibly painful. 

“We’re going to stretch our second position.” Levi announced, for Eren’s sake only. Turning to the startled brunet beside him, he gestured to the only open spot on the wall that they other sat against. 

What was a second position? _Why_ did it needed to be stretched? Eren looked at the four color guard members against the wall, his heart jumping as he watched Petra split her legs even further and further apart. That space in between her legs… Was it natural? They were nearly parallel with the floor! Eren looked back to Levi with a fearful look in his eyes. The captain merely smirked in response. He gave one encouraging push against Eren’s shoulder to send him off. 

He was frozen for a moment, but after hearing Levi clear his throat, his legs carried him forward at an inhuman pace to the empty space on the wall. He was quick to lower to a sit, scooting as close to the wall as possible. As he laid his back against the dusty floor of the gym, his heart was racing beneath his chest. His legs were trembling with fear. With so much excitement in the future, Eren was in no mood to split the muscles in his thighs. Just looking at the red head next to him made his legs ache. With a sigh, the brunet lolled his head to the opposite side of Petra, eyeing empty space as he parted his legs as far as they allowed. By the amount of pain that was surging through his inner thigh muscles, causing them to cramp and quiver in fear, Eren was sure that he had done just as well as the others beside him.

But a set of hands against his thighs had proved him wrong. His eyes grew wide with horror as his head snapped center. Eren was instantly greeted by the sight of Levi’s face, his ebony locks scattering over his determined grey hues. His clasp upon Eren’s thighs was so incredibly tight, so rough… Did he touch everyone like this? He found his heart skipping a beat as his body shifted beneath his touch.

“You can do better.”

Applying a generous amount of force, the color guard captain guided Eren’s legs even farther apart. The action caused the teen below to wince in pain. Eren’s teeth moved out to gnaw on his lower lip to keep a cry of pain hidden within his mouth. Oh, he already knew that he would have trouble walking tomorrow. 

“There, see?” Levi breathed, giving Eren’s legs a pat well done before pulling away and opting to sit beside him. “I want you to keep your legs in that exact position, or else I won’t listen to what you have to say to me.”

Eren was already having trouble breathing. How would he be able to talk while keeping his legs in that painful position? His muscles were pulsing—Eren was sure that his skin would split at any given moment. This stretch, it was unnatural. Inhaling a sharp breath through his nostrils, the brunet’s hands clenched into tight fists at his sides.

“W-well, it’s about the party.” He began, voice shaking just like his lower half.

“Go on.” Levi replied, crossing one leg over the other as he leaned his back against the gym wall behind him. 

“You see—“ Another quick breath, this time through the lips. _You can do this, Eren._ “My friends and I, we’ve wanted to go to one of... One of Erwin’s parties since we were freshmen.” Who would have thought it would be so hard to speak and stretch at the same time?

“Well, that’s lucky for you, then.” 

Eren flinched, but not from pain. “Um, yeah…” He breathed, his voice rising to a higher pitch than what he was normally used to. His own squeaky voiced caused the boy to furrow his brow. “But, do you think… That maybe Mikasa and Armin could tag along?”

Levi was silent for a moment, and Eren was left with a racing mind. What was he thinking? Was he angry? Oh, he was in so much pain that he couldn’t even will his head to move to look at the captain beside him. All he wanted to do was lay still, drop his legs, and hear that one answer that he had been wishing for since the morning—

“I suppose so.” Levi replied with a collected sigh. 

_Wait, what?_

That wasn’t exactly the phrase that Eren had been hoping for, but even so, those unenthusiastic words had the very same meaning. Without thinking, the brunet instantly sat up from his stretching position. His eyes were glimmering with joy and his lips had curved upward into the widest of smiles. He couldn’t believe it! With so little effort—well, at least verbally—he had gotten his friends an invite to Erwin’s party! 

“Really?!” Eren whispered, not wanting to attract any attention from the others. Did they know that Levi had asked him to the party? Maybe, but probably not. “Do you really mean it, Levi?!”

“Yes, I do.” Levi huffed, already moving his hands to guide Eren back into his stretch. “Don’t act so excited or I might change my mind. Now—get back to stretching. You’ve still got another minute to hold that position. I wonder if you can find it again…”

It had taken some effort, and a helping hand from Levi, for Eren to find the position that caused his legs to strain. The last minute of the stretch was incredibly painful. Time and time again, Eren was tempted to shift his legs. But even with so much as a twitch, Levi’s hands were right there to guide his legs back into place. The brunet tried to will the pain away with his excited mind. His thoughts were filled with party plans. Finally, this four year long dream had finally come true! He couldn’t wait to tell his friends as soon as he got home. 

After the stretching period was finally over, it was time for rehearsal. It was essentially the same routine as Eren’s first day. But this time, he was much more prepared. He knew the order of Levi’s exercises, and he could perform them, too. Eren was full of pride by the time they moved to tosses. Each release he caught perfectly with ready hands and strong shoulders. But, when Levi called for doubles, he was deflated. Hard as he tried, Eren was never able to put enough force behind his tosses to make his flag spin round twice in the air. While the rest of the guard tossed doubles, Eren continued to toss singles. 

After work on flag, it was time for rifle. Sadly, Eren had to sit out completely for the last half of rehearsal while the others worked on their rifle basics. But, the brunet always found the rifle work interesting to watch. Each time the weapon was caught, the satisfactory sound of plastic and wood slapping roughly against palms and fingertips of hands made his heart skip a beat. Petra, Eld, Gunther and Oluo were all so confident… Spinning that rifle, it was like second nature to them. Even though Levi mostly stood at the front calling simple counts, only rarely touching his gun against the wall for a spin or two, Eren knew that his skill was even greater. He couldn’t wait for the day where he could spin his own rifle right beside him. 

When rehearsal was over, Eren was surprised to find that Levi approached him right away. The brunet had already bent down to pick up his flag and roll the silk by the time he felt his captain’s form hovering above him. With blinking eyes, he looked over his shoulder to take a good look at Levi’s face. He wasn’t just standing there with his arms crossed for no reason. He had something to say.

“Are you busy?” 

It was true. Levi would never approach him for no reason. 

“Erm, well other than the fact that I’m trying to pu—“

“Don’t get smart with me.”

Eren bit his lower lip as he finished rolling up his flag. Grasping the equipment tight in his palm, he rose to his feet. 

“I’m not busy, I think.” He breathed as one hand reached behind his neck for a scratch. “Why?”

“I want to talk to you about Friday.” Levi replied simply. 

That’s right. Eren had a party that he would be attending later in the week. Not by himself, either. He’d be with both Levi _and_ his friends. That was certainly something he did not mind talking about.

“Alright well—“ Eren paused for a brief moment. With another bat of his lashes, he quickly realized that this moment was the perfect opportunity to repay Levi for treating him to coffee not too long ago. “Hey, why don’t we get something to eat? You took me out for coffee last time, so I’ll drive us somewhere. How does that sound?” He did have his wallet with him, right? Surely it was sitting in the glove box.

Levi was silent for a moment. His brow furrowed and his weight shifted from one hip to the other. It was clear that he was carefully calculating his answer. But, what did he have to lose? Going anywhere else would be much better than the stuffy gym that they were currently trapped in. “Fine.” He replied with a sigh. “Where are you taking me?”

“Oh, um…” That was something Eren had yet to decide. “I’ll figure it out in the car.”

A few goodbyes between teammates were shared before Eren and Levi took their leave—together. Little did they know that behind their backs on the way out of the gym, they had received a few sideways stares from the rest of the guard. Eren was relieved to know that once they were outside there wasn’t a cloud in the sky. Last rehearsal was stressful with all of the rain.

Once at the car, the brunet played gentleman and opened the door for his captain. The action earned a scoff from Levi as he climbed up into the passenger’s seat. After he was buckled in, Eren closed the door and jogged round the front of the Forrester. He was quick to let himself in and put the key in the ignition. After shifting into reverse and buckling up, he pulled out of the stall.

“So, what do you feel like eating?” It was Eren’s weak attempt to save the car cab from falling silent. 

Levi replied with a weak shrug of his shoulders. He was far too busy staring out at the empty sidewalks passing by. After a few breaths, however, he felt the need to add; “Your car smells like shit.”

“Thanks.” Eren replied with a weak laugh. Yeah, that must have been from the pizza that he brought home the other day. “Well, I’ll just go to whatever’s closest.” Yeah, saving gas was always nice especially when Eren was living off of his monthly allowance. 

Levi didn’t seem to mind Eren’s proposal all too much. He released another breathy sigh through his nostrils as his elbow rested against the side of the car door’s ledge, just beside the window control. He cupped his chin within his palm and allowed his eyes to narrow with fatigue. 

Just when the car was threatened with silence again, Eren found a welcoming looking establishment out of the corner of his eye. Oh, he remembered this place quite well. A simple beige color with a bright orange arch and the characteristic purple bell logo hanging proudly in the center. Yeah, Eren had visited this place many times after marching band rehearsal. It was near by, and it was cheap. 

“Perfect.” He whispered through smiling lips, already turning on his blinker to turn left into the parking lot.

All of a sudden, Levi’s body became alive. His ashy hues were wide and filled with horror as Eren pulled into a parking spot close to the front door. His back sunk into the worn faux-leather seats of the car, his grip on the door’s ledge growing tight.

“Oh, no.” Levi laughed nervously, his head turning to show Eren an intimidating smile. “There’s no way in _hell_ that you’re taking me to this shit hole.”

Eren was already working at his seat belt. By the time Levi was finished speaking, he had opened his door. “What are you talking about?” He chuckled as he hopped out of the car. He turned over his shoulder to flash Levi a smile once his feet were planted on the ground. “Taco Bell is awesome. C’mon, I’ll even pay for you!”

“Oh, how generous of you.” Levi replied with a dramatic roll of his eyes. 

“I know, right?” 

It took a great amount of coaxing to finally get Levi out of the car. Eren had to all but pry him out of the passenger’s seat. Although he was out of the vehicle, Levi was in no way excited to be going out to eat with Eren at his restaurant of choice. He walked into the place with his arms crossed tightly over his chest and his eyes narrowed in disgust. The smell of chemically altered meat and beans nearly made his eyes burn.

Taco Bell? It certainly did not leave a good first impression, and there was no way that a one dollar taco would make them even after Levi had taken Eren to such a nice coffee house. 

Upon approaching the counter, Eren turned to his captain with his eyes filled with excitement. Levi may have not been a fan of Taco Bell, but he sure was. 

“What do you want?” He asked, gesturing for the raven to come closer. Currently, he was staying as far away from the cash register as possible.

“I don’t want any of this crap.”

“Oh, come on.” Eren sighed. “You have to have _something_.”

“I don’t want anything.”

Chewing on the inner layer of his cheek, Eren turned back to face the employee at the register. Clearly, Levi wasn’t going to make up his mind. Maybe he was overwhelmed with the amount of options?

Hardly.

“Okay. We’ll have one Crunch Wrap Supreme, one Cheesy Gordita Crunch, and…” This was the hard part. What was something that Levi would at least _try_ to eat? Eren had a feeling Levi would refuse to eat any of the Taco Bell traditional items. Anything with meat, that was probably out. After all, the meat tended to have a negative reaction with most people… “A quesadilla and a Baja Blast.” 

After Eren had paid for the order, he collected his change and made his way back over to Levi. They found a table close to a window, and with much reluctance, Levi sat himself down. 

“What, are the chairs and tables too dirty for you?” Eren snickered, only half joking.

“Yeah.” Oh, but Levi was completely serious.

Eren simply shook his head as he moved to rest his forearm against the table. There may have been a few lingering crumbs from the last person who had eaten at the very same place. “Well, what do you have to say about Friday?” He figured he might as well distract Levi from the less than trendy atmosphere and cut to the chase. After all, Friday’s happenings was what had brought them to such a fine establishment in the first place. 

“Right.” Levi sighed, taking a moment to rake his fingers through his unruly fringe before continuing on. “I figured that it would be best for you to ride with me to the party, considering you have no idea where Erwin’s house is. But now that your friends are coming…”

“I can give the address to them.” Eren replied all too quickly. His voice had clearly startled Levi. Eren bit his lower lip shortly after he had cut in. “I mean… Mikasa can take the car and drive Armin. It’ll save gas.”

The raven’s lashes batted against his cheeks quite a few times before he parted his lips again. “Fine… So you’ll ride with me, then.” Levi adjusted himself within his seat before continuing on. “As you may know, Erwin’s parties are famous for their drinks. So, it will be likely that we will be staying overnight at his house. Are you comfortable with that?”

“Yeah, that’s fine.” Eren replied with a nod. “Better than driving home drunk.”

Just as Levi agreed with another unenthusiastic shrug of his shoulders, Eren’s order number had been called out from the front of the restaurant. In a hurry, his stomach doing most of the thinking, he got up from his seat and walked to the counter to retrieve the tray with food. He stopped by the counter behind to grab a few packets of hot sauce, some napkins, and a straw. Once he had everything necessary, he met back with Levi at their quaint little table. He set down the tray and immediately grabbed his personal favorite—the Crunch Wrap Supreme. He ripped into the wrapper as he lifted his head to eye the man across from him. “The freezy thingy and the quesadilla are yours. At least try them. They’re pretty good.” 

Could Levi really trust Eren’s judgment? He wasn’t so sure. But the way that the brunet’s eyes refused to leave him was incredibly annoying. With a roll of his eyes and a irritated huff, he reached for the drink and a straw. One quick rip, and the paper was off. Levi all but stabbed the straw into the frozen drink before lifting it to his lips. He took one generous sip before setting it back down. It actually… Wasn’t that bad at all. In fact, it was rather refreshing. But there was no way he would let Eren know that. Instead, he pushed the thing aside and crossed his legs. 

Eren was satisfied with Levi’s reaction, though. Anything was better than him spitting out the drink in disgust. With a smile of content painted across his lips, he allowed himself to peel back the rest of the wrapper of his food and lift it to his mouth for a quick bite. When he was finished chewing, he set it aside and reached for a packet of hot sauce.

“So, I’m curious.” Eren began, tearing the packet open and spreading it onto his Crunch Wrap. “How did you get to know Erwin in the first place?”

Levi simply scoffed at Eren’s question as he moved to rest his elbow against the table. “Wouldn’t you like to know?” He huffed.

“Well, there has to be a reason why he invites you to his parties, right?” Eren replied before lifting the taco back up to his mouth for another bite.

“It’s complicated.” 

Oh, now that sounded interesting. If Eren was curious earlier, he was even more so now. After swallowing his second bite, he set down his food and leaned in closer. “What do you mean _complicated_?”

“Why should I tell you about that?” Levi whispered harshly, his eyes narrowing as he reached for his bright blue frozen drink.

“I want to know what I’m getting myself into.” Eren replied coolly. “If it’s complicated, I don’t want to fuck anything up.”

Levi had already lifted the drink up to his lips. With his tongue moving out to lick the tip of the straw, he wavered for just a moment, his brow furrowing in thought. Closing his eyes, the raven released a slow sigh and set the drink back down. “You’ve got a point, Yeager.”

“I know.” Eren smirked. “So just tell me.”

“Alright, if you really want to know…” 

“I do!”

Levi arched one of his thin ebony brows as he leaned back against his seat. His arms moved away from the table to cross over his chest as he scanned Eren’s eager face. It was such a shame that he looked so excited. Levi was almost sure that he would be let down by his answer. Either way, he closed his eyes and decided to take a risk. It was with one long exhale that Levi finally admitted:

“Erwin is my ex-boyfriend.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow, this was definitely the longest chapter I've ever written. I hope it makes up for my irregular posting ; o ;
> 
> I feel so stupid for having to apologize in all of my notes, but I do feel really terrible about my procrastination. I started this chapter a long time ago, but I was conflicted about where to end it. I also went to an anime convention over the weekend, which was probably the best convention that I've ever been to. You can read all about it on my blog! It took away from my time to write this update, though. 
> 
> In the future, I'm going to work really hard to update on a regular basis. My story is just starting to get good and I have a lot of plans so it will be easier to write!
> 
> As always, you can follow me on tumblr at http://p-jean.tumblr.com/
> 
> I also track the tag 'fic:spinning the flags of freedom' and you can post there! I check it often and it has been lacking so I would really appreciate any kind of post! (:
> 
> Thank you all for reading and sticking with me!


	11. Erwin Smith

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Levi tells Eren about his past with Erwin, his apparent ex-boyfriend. After that, Eren hurries home to tell his friends about the plans for the party. Eren begins to stress about showing up at the party with Levi. After all, it is Erwin's party. Erwin-- the ex-boyfriend of Levi. A long day at school on Friday proves for more time for him to fret. But at the end of the day, Levi assures him that everything will be okay. Levi claims that Erwin is very absent at his own parties. But after a couple of years... Have things changed, or stayed the same?

“…Erwin?” 

Eren found that pretty hard to believe. Actually, he found it hard to believe that Levi had ever dated anyone at all. 

“Did I stutter?” Levi sighed, reaching one had to brush through his ebony fringe before opting to take another sip from his frozen drink. “Yeah. I dated Erwin. But clearly, it didn’t work out.”

Eren leaned back against the hard metal chair behind him, his arms stationed at his sides while his brow furrowed in thought. Levi and Erwin…? But why? Erwin was so charismatic. Everyone in the marching band looked up to him. He was handsome, strong, polite, compassionate… He could have anyone that he wanted. The entire school knew his name. Why would he want a man like Levi? 

Levi was determined like Erwin, that was true. In fact, Levi wasn’t half bad looking himself. But he had such a negative personality. At least, that was what he had caused everyone to believe. Perhaps there was a different side of him that he wasn’t showing? Had Erwin seen that secret side of him? 

“I know what you’re thinking.” Levi breathed, setting down the drink and crossing his arms over his chest. He arched one brow as he gave Eren a once over. The kid’s expression was filled with confusion. “You’re thinking ‘why would Erwin ever settle for a guy like _him_ ', right?” The raven rolled his eyes and emitted a scoff from his lips. “Yeah, I’ve been asked that question plenty of times.”

Eren instantly perked up, his back straightening and his eyes widening with fear. He inched his upper half closer to the table, but stopped when his face was just a little to close to the man’s before him. 

“Th-that’s not what I was thinking—“ Eren stopped as he watched Levi narrow his eyes. Clearly, he wasn’t having any of that. The brunet reached down toy with the bottom hem of his t-shirt, his emerald hues finding the black fabric more interesting than ever before. “Well, I mean… Okay—I wouldn’t say _settle_ , but it does seem a little strange that you two would, erm…”

“Erwin and I have known each other for a very long time.” Levi began, relaxing his back into his chair as he spoke. His expression softened for a moment. He closed his eyes, inhaling a quick breath through his nostrils before parting his lips again. “Since middle school.”

“Oh…?” Eren could already tell that his captain was preparing for a heck of a story. He felt the need to relax himself, too. He shifted his weight from side to side on the uncomfortable seat, raising up one butt cheek and then the other before returning to sit center. Why couldn’t they have had this talk back at the coffee shop? The chairs were much more comfortable there. 

Levi shrugged his shoulders and reached one hand out to toy with the wrapper of the quesadilla before him. He tugged at the corners mindlessly before tearing off a piece of the crinkly paper wrapper. “I was in drama in middle school. There was no such thing as color guard there. Erwin played in the pit orchestra for all of the musicals. He played sax. He was pretty good.” Another rip, another tear. “Hanji played, too.”

“Oh…” Was this information really necessary? Eren just wanted to know what brought them together, not their entire back story.

“Erwin and Hanji felt bad for me, I guess. I would always eat alone during our breaks. The kids in the drama department were the most annoying bunch I’ve ever been around. I didn’t want to be around them anymore than I had to. I was in that program for the acting, not the friendships.” By now, the quesadilla was more than halfway open. Levi took to picking at the thing instead of actually eating it. “So they would always come and sit next to me when I was alone. Eventually, it felt more natural than forced. We all became friends, I guess you could say. They’d take me out to the local diner after every opening night. It wasn’t half bad.

By the time we entered high school, Erwin and Hanji knew that they wanted to do marching band. What could I do? I didn’t have any musical talent. They told me about this thing called color guard. We wanted to stay together. I went to auditions and I picked it up really fast. I got on the team and then every day after that I devoted my life to the activity. I knew only a few months in that I wanted to audition for captain. The way that practices were run before me was god-awful. I couldn’t stand it.”

“Yeah…?” Eren imagined that it was quite the opposite. Rehearsals without Levi in captain position were most likely much more enjoyable—less like a day in the military. 

“Yeah. I told Erwin about how I wanted to become captain first. He worked really hard with me… He was like my trainee, essentially. I would practice teaching him color guard to see if I had a good enough teaching style. We spent a lot of time together my freshman year training like this… You can imagine what that sort of thing lead to, right?”

“Um…” Eren could definitely imagine it, but he really didn’t want to.

Levi sighed and ripped an especially large piece of quesadilla apart before setting it aside. He reached for a napkin to wipe off his fingers before lifting his head to meet Eren’s terribly uncomfortable gaze. The captain narrowed his grey hues and eased forward across the table. “Whatever is said at this table does not leave this table, got that?” 

“Yeah, of course.” Eren replied quickly, his voice raising an octave as he spoke. 

Levi took another deep breath and reached for another sip of his drink. After he was finished, the plastic cup back on the tray, he brought a hand to the back of his neck. 

“Erwin was a man with many desires. Since I was there, I fulfilled them. I don’t need to be specific with you. We were young. I thought nothing of it. But, he treated me differently than an ‘item’… I wasn’t his plaything. It grew into something more than that… We would go out secretly. We kept our relationship a secret. Only our closest friends knew about our relationship.

But as we entered our sophomore year, Erwin told me that he wanted to try out for drum major. We were both in desire of a leadership position… I immediately realized that our relationship couldn’t continue after he told me that. Even though his position wasn’t finalized, we all knew that his chances were incredibly high. Besides, I didn’t want our little secret to be revealed and hinder his chances.” 

“So…” Eren leaned forward now, resting his elbows on the table and using his hands as a rest for the tip of his chin. “You’re telling me that you broke up with Erwin because you thought that your relationship would ruin his reputation?”

“Sadly, that’s exactly what I’m trying to get through your thick skull.” Levi huffed. “I don’t think you understand how incredibly inappropriate it is for two men—especially two men with powerful positions in the band—to be dating.” 

“Oh, I understand.” Eren laughed quietly. He could only imagine what kind of conflict such a secret would create. “But… How did he react? Like… Are you guys still friends and stuff?”

Levi’s lips twitched for a moment. They curved downward, his greyish hues flickering to take a quick glance at the floor before lifting back up to meet Eren’s innocent gaze.

He’d struck a nerve, hadn’t he?

“It’s… complicated.” Levi sighed. “Erwin pretends that he’s not effected by the break-up. We were together for an incredibly long time… roughly a year-and-a-half. I ended our relationship just before drum major and color guard captain try-outs our sophomore year. When it actually happened, he was devastated.” Levi draped one arm over the back of his seat as he spoke, the other reaching for his drink. The slush inside of its frosty cup was dwindling. “He didn’t talk to me for weeks. But based on how he continues to invite me to his parties, I can tell that he still hasn’t gotten over me.”

That… wasn’t good. Erwin still had feelings for Levi? What would he think when they showed up to _his_ party _together_? But their relationship wasn’t like that. Surely Levi would tell him that, right?

“Have you ever been to one of his parties, Levi?” Eren asked, his eyes taking on a much more curious nature. But, his body said otherwise. His hands had reverted back to toying with his shirt. 

“Not recently.” Levi sighed. “Naturally, I went to all of them when we were together.”

That wasn’t good either. Oh, now Eren wasn’t looking forward to Erwin’s party at all. 

“Well… Why do you want to go now?”

“I miss his parties, honestly.” The raven replied casually. “I miss seeing my old friends. I haven’t talked to them much since I ended my relationship with Erwin. Naturally, they all sided with him. After all, they knew Erwin before they knew me.”

Eren shifted within his seat again. Now, his stomach was starting to feel upset. It couldn’t have been the taco—he hadn’t even eaten its entirety. All of this information about Erwin… It was too much. Just how far had he and Levi gone? Obviously their relationship had been pretty intense if he was a man of ‘many desires’… Eren would never be able to look at him again, let alone show up to his party with his ex-boyfriend. 

“Eren—“ Levi began cautiously. For once, his voice sounded careful. “I can tell that you’re nervous about all of this. But, you shouldn’t worry about Erwin. At his parties, he’s too busy playing host to mingle with his guests. Even when we were together he would hardly pay any attention to me until everyone had left.”

Eren only nodded to acknowledge the words that Levi had just said. It was a relief to know that he wouldn’t have to worry about explaining himself to the host, but at the same time… Levi hadn’t been to one of his parties in a long time. What if everything had changed?

Eren’s hunger had long been gone by that point. He allowed Levi to finish the rest of his drink before they retreated back to his Forrester. For once, Eren didn’t mind the silence in the car as they drove back. In fact, he embraced it. He needed a moment to think about everything that he had just learned. His mind was filled with images of Levi and Erwin. Some of them were more disturbing than he’d like to admit. Half way back to the school where Levi’s car was waiting for him, Eren turned up the radio to block out the thoughts in his head. 

When Eren had finally returned home, he already had a game plan in his head. He’d remove his shoes, put the keys on the counter, and then immediately run up to Mikasa’s room. He had a lot to share with her. 

Once upstairs, he entered his sister’s room without a knock. She was on her bed as usual, but instead of listening to music and reading a book, she was on her phone. What was she doing? She didn’t text anyone. Maybe she was tweeting? That was beside the point. Eren immediately grabbed the phone from her hands and threw it across her bed. Thank God it landed on the mattress and not the floor.

“Eren, what the hell—“ Mikasa began to shout, but her brother interrupted her by grabbing her by the hand and hoisting her off of the bed.

“We have to call Armin on Skype. I have a lot to tell you guys about this whole party thing.”

Armin had already been online when Eren took Mikasa to his room to sign onto Skype. He was relieved to see his friend’s name light up with a green notification to the side of the home screen. He called Armin immediately. His finger couldn’t have pressed the neon green ‘call’ button any faster. 

Armin answered with video chat like always, and by the size of his eyes, he was taken aback by the sudden call. But Eren was more than prepared to begin sharing the information that he had just learned. Mikasa, on the other hand, moved to sit behind her brother on his unmade bed. 

“So, I hung out with Levi after rehearsal.” Eren began quickly.

“So _that’s_ why you’re home so late.” Mikasa breathed as he fell into a laying position on the bed. 

“Yeah. But I—“ Wait a second. Hadn’t Levi said something about keeping their conversation private back at Taco Bell? Now he was conflicted… Of course, Eren trusted his friends. But he didn’t trust himself. He would live in guilt for breaking a promise with Levi. If Levi ever found out about him telling Mikasa and Armin about his past with Erwin… He didn’t even want to think about that.

Armin must have picked up on Eren’s moment of internal conflict. He leaned closer to the screen, his brow furrowing with concern. “Eren, what’s wrong?” He whispered, tilting his head curiously as he spoke. “Do you feel okay…?”

“Y-yeah! I’m fine.” Eren laughed, shaking his head to rid of the disturbing thoughts that clogged his mind. Now he had to think of something new to tell his friends. What else had he learned besides Levi’s past relationship… Oh, that’s right!

“Levi said that it would be okay if you guys could come to the party.” _Play it cool, Eren. Contain your excitement._  
“Are you serious?!” Armin’s giddy voice was heard first. It instantly broke Eren’s cool character, bringing a bright smile to his lips. “Eren, that’s awesome! How did you do it?!”

“He probably bugged the crap out of him until he said yes.” Mikasa replied from behind, wearing a smirk on her thin lips. “That’s always how he gets his way.”

“ _Actually_ , I didn’t.” Eren began. “All I did was ask him once. He was quiet for a while, but then he said ‘sure’, or something like that.”

“I don’t believe you.” Mikasa laughed. 

“It doesn’t matter what happened—“ Armin interrupted. “All that matters is that we’re going to Erwin’s party! My God—We have so much planning to do!”

Eren shifted for a moment. Armin was so excited… He knew that Mikasa was, too. At least, on the inside. She was never really one to show such intense outward emotions. Would his friends mind that he already had plans to carpool with Levi? Most likely. He would feel bad for ruining Armin’s ecstatic mood…

“How are we getting there? Are we all gonna take the car together?” Mikasa asked as she sat herself up, reaching around to hold one of Eren’s pillows in her lap. 

“Erm, here’s the catch.” Eren began, leaning back in his office chair as he spoke. “Levi and I already made plans to ride to Erwin’s house together. So… You two have to get there on your own.”

“Why can’t we ride with you and Levi?” 

Mikasa’s question had caught both Eren and Armin’s attention. The blonde’s blue eyes flickered from Mikasa’s face and back to Eren’s. His expression was blank for just a moment, but suddenly, his eyes glimmered with an inkling of hope. “Yeah!” He agreed. “That’s a good idea!”

Eren bit his lower lip. How could he ever deny his friends? Weren’t they more important than Levi? But he had already caused his captain so much trouble… The brunet was truly torn.

“Y-yeah, that is a really good idea, but…” He paused for a moment, his body slumping in the chair. “I’d love for you guys to come with us, but I don’t think you’d enjoy yourself. Levi… He’s kind of hard to be around. I don’t want him to ruin the party for you.”

“Well what about when we actually get there?” Mikasa replied all too quickly. She held her brother’s pillow just a little bit tighter as she rocked forward to sit onto her knees. “Are you gonna ditch us there, too?”

“No way!” Eren laughed nervously. “Guys, how long have we been dreaming about this party?” He looked back to each of his friends—Mikasa’s skeptical expression, and then Armin’s pixilated face on the computer monitor. “I’m not gonna let anything ruin this night. I promise.”

Eren went to bed that night filled with guilt. Honestly, he wasn’t sure whether or not he would be able to keep the promise that he had made with his friends. Eren liked to consider himself a man of his word, but everything about this party on Friday was starting to look more and more complicated. Not only would he have to avoid Erwin, but he would have to keep Levi company and try to fulfill all of the expectations that Armin and Mikasa had held—the expectations that the three of them had formed since entering high school. The more he thought about, the less the party seemed like a good time and more of a chore. Before Eren finally fell asleep around 2 o’clock in the morning, he found himself hoping that the drinks at the party would be enough to make up for the turmoil that he surely would ensue. 

The next morning marked the day of Erwin’s party. Eren awoke with a nervous feeling in his gut. But before he could worry about the party itself, he would have to worry about school. 

Classes were a drag as usual. Eren made sure to keep his phone tucked safely away in his pocket throughout the duration of his history class. In English, Mikasa pestered Armin about drinking at the party. 

“You’re going to have to drink _something_.” She insisted. “There’s gonna be nothing but booze. Everyone will make fun of you if you don’t have any.”

But Armin insisted that there would be an alternate option. His reason for declining alcohol as a whole was that he wanted to remember all of the ridiculous things his friends did while they were drunk.

Eren had math by himself. He did his best to focus on taking notes and completing practice exercises, but his mind always wandered back to what Levi had shared about Erwin. The brunet found himself chewing on the eraser of his pencil to chase away the thoughts.

Lunch was next—the school day was halfway over. Only three more classes, and then Eren would have to face his fears. It was funny how the time of his life was slowly turning into a parade to his death. Eren did his best to tune out his two excited friends as they ate together out in the courtyard. 

Next was PE. It was a nice break from all of Eren’s other classes. Rather than exercising his already worn out mind, he could exercise his anxious body. Running laps around the track on a beautiful sunny day was the perfect way to take his mind off of everything else. For a brief moment, there was nothing weighing him down. All Eren cared about was the cool breeze tousling his hair.

After he had changed back into his regular clothes and out of his gym class uniform, it was off to chemistry. Another subject that Eren absolutely loathed. At least Armin was in this class. Their study time together was the only reason why Eren was passing with a C, and that was good enough for him.

The last class of the day was Eren’s media class. The subject was mildly interesting, but the brunet’s hopelessly unenergetic teacher ruined the class for him. He always wondered why teachers entered the education career if they hated teenagers so much. This lady, she was a witch. But by some blessing from above, she seemed to be in a relatively good mood that day. She showed the class a video rather than standing up front and lecturing for the entire class period. 

On the ride back to the house, Mikasa decided to drive the Forrester. Armin joined them in the car like he usually did. Riding the school bus home was a living nightmare. Eren and Mikasa weren’t going to subject their friend to that kind of torture. Armin sat in the back while Eren was curled up in the passenger’s seat, his feet resting on the ledge of the worn faux-leather seat and his head lolled against the window. Each vibration against the glass and to his head contributed to his growing headache. When the car pulled up to Armin’s family home, the three shared their customary goodbyes. 

“Wait, what about Erwin’s address?” Mikasa made a point to ask this before Armin had climbed out of the car. 

“Oh, right.” How could Eren have forgotten about that? Easily. His mind was far too busy fretting over other things. Coincidentally, those things also involved Erwin’s party. “Um… I don’t really know it myself right now, so I’ll send Levi an e-mail about it and give it to Mikasa.” 

Armin left the car after that. He trotted up to the front door of his house and fished the key to the front door out of his pocket. Mikasa made sure that he had gotten inside before shifting the car into drive and pulling away from the cul-de-sac. By the time that they had turned out of Armin’s neighborhood, Eren was already firing up the e-mail application on his cell phone. He found Levi’s e-mail address at ease. His fingers tapped against the screen feverishly before he hit the “send” button with his thumb. 

He could only hope that Levi would reply soon.

Mikasa pulled into the garage at roughly 3:35 PM. The party started at precisely 8:30. Eren had just over five hours to find Erwin’s address, figure out what he would wear to the party, put some food in his stomach, and calm his anxious mind. He knew that he would have the most trouble with the final item on his mental checklist.  
Mikasa had just allowed herself out of the car, joining her brother inside the garage after shutting the door behind her. “So, is Levi going to drive over here to pick you up?” She asked, slipping the car keys into her pocket as she approached the door inside. 

Eren’s body frozen at his sister’s question, his eyes growing wide with shock. Apparently, he had one more item that he needed to sort out on his list. He and Levi had never established how they were meeting. Levi didn’t even know his address! 

Frantically, the brunet slipped his hand into his back pocket to retrieve his cell phone. Mikasa shook her head as she watched him, a gentle laugh parting her lips. “Eren, do you _ever_ plan anything in advanced?” She sighed.

“I don’t know—“ Eren grumbled, his brow furrowing with a mixture of irritation and anxiety. But as the screen of his phone lit up, he was relieved to see that there was a notification from his e-mail. On top, he could clearly read Levi’s e-mail address. 

Perhaps his “guard related e-mails” only policy wasn’t as strict as he made it out to be.

Eren slid his finger across the notification box in a hurry, causing his e-mail application to launch. 

Levi  
To: bonerboyyeager@mail.com  
Erwin’s Address 

You idiot. You worry about nothing. I was already planning on sending you Erwin’s address. Here it is:

11309 121st Avenue East 

Did you have any idea that you forgot to give me your address as well? You really are a brat. You better reply soon or I’ll be going to the party without you.

Eren had already began to type out his response to Levi’s email before he had finished reading it. He could never remember a time where he typed so fast. If only his fingers had been this speedy back in middle school, where they were tested on how many key strokes they could perform per minute. Once he had finally typed his address, and his address alone, he sent his reply and locked his phone with a breath of relief. 

“I gave my address to him.” After giving his phone a gentle squeeze, the brunet carefully passed off the device to his sister. “I got Erwin’s address, too.” Everything was okay. There was nothing to worry about. All of these little details would settle soon. As soon as he walked into the party, his nerves would disappear.  
That was what Eren told himself as he pushed past his sister and made his way into the house. 

6:30 PM. By this time, Eren had taken a shower, laid out his outfit of choice, eaten a dinner of barbequed chicken and mashed potatoes up in his room, and allowed himself a moment to lay down on his bed. Levi would probably be at his house within the hour. One more hour, and he would be in the car with Levi. He would be on his way to Erwin’s party—Levi’s ex boyfriend’s party. He was going to Erwin’s party with the man that he still had feelings for. 

His head was starting to hurt again. Pushing himself off of his wrinkled sheets, Eren decided that he should fix up his bed hair. After all, he had been laying on wet locks. His head probably looked as bad as it felt. He dragged himself into the bathroom down the hall and mindlessly brushed his tousled chocolate locks. Back and forth, back and forth… The motion was soothing. 

“You’re going to be okay.” He whispered, looking his reflection straight in the eye as he spoke. “This party—you’ve been waiting for it for years. You’re going to have fun.” 

With one final brush, he was satisfied. Setting the hairbrush aside, Eren used his fingers to run through his silky locks, texturing them before he left the bathroom all together. After just stepping out of the threshold, the brunet stopped himself. There was something missing. He lifted a hand up to his lips, blowing a breath of air into his cupped hand and giving a sniff. Yeah. He could definitely use a quick brush of his teeth, too. 

Half past seven. Eren had dressed himself in the outfit that he had laid over his desk chair. On bottom, a pair of distressed, light wash jeans. He rolled them into cuffs just above his ankles. They were his favorite pair. The cut was perfect—not too loose, and not to skin tight, either. On top, a plaid flannel whose color pallet consisted of light greens, dark greens, and black. He left a couple buttons up top open, exposing his slightly tanned neck and defined clavicle. He rolled the sleeves up to his elbows before moving to pull his socks over his bare feet. For shoes, he would wear his favorite pair of worn leather slip-on flats. When he was finally dressed, Eren was greeted by a knock on his bedroom door. 

“Eren?” It was Mikasa’s voice. After another knock, she allowed herself in. 

Eren was immediately taken aback by his sister’s attire. Her pale white legs were the object of his attention. On her hips, she wore a high wasted blush colored skirt. Her toned midriff was exposed, showing between the top hem of her skater skirt and the bottom hem of her floral print crop top. The brunet’s eyes narrowed at the sight. This was by far the most exposed that he had ever seen his sister.

“What the hell are you wearing?” He groaned. “Are you trying to get laid tonight or something?”

“Eren—“ Mikasa ran a hand through her slightly curled ebony locks before opting to sit down at the chair beside her brother’s desk. “No, I’m not. I bought this outfit specifically for a party. I think it looks really cute, so I’m going to wear it.”

“You look like a slut.”

“Do you realize this is how most girls my age dress on a regular basis?” Mikasa huffed. “It’s not called being a slut. It’s called being _fashionable_.”

Eren couldn’t deny that. Most of the girls at their school, in fact, dressed a lot more scandalously than the outfit that his sister was currently wearing. Maybe he was just oblivious to the current fashion trends.

Crossing his arms over his chest, Eren allowed his foot to kick at nothing in particular against the carpeted floor of his bedroom floor. 

Mikasa sensed her brother’s agitation. She didn’t come into his room to start a fight.

“That’s not why I came in here, though.” She began, bringing her hands to smooth out her skirt as she stood up from the chair. “I wanted to check up on you.”

Eren lifted his head at this. His arms slowly fell to his side, and his emerald hues glimmered with curiosity. “Check up on me?” He breathed, scoffing after he had finished speaking. What? Had he really done that bad of a job hiding his building nerves?

“Yeah.” Mikasa never missed anything, especially when it involved her brother. He was far too predictable, anyway. “I can tell that you’re stressing out about this party… But, I don’t want you to worry.” She approached her brother then, slowly stepping closer and resting a comforting hand on his shoulder. “If it bothers you that much, Armin and I… We’ll leave you alone with Levi.”

“What—?” Eren breathed, a laugh filled with confusion parting his lips. “Mikasa, that’s not—Oh my god.” He shook his head before meeting his eyes with his sister’s gentle ashy hues. “I want to spend time with you and Armin.”

“Yeah…?” Mikasa whispered with a shaky laugh. “Then what are you all worried about?”

“I…” Eren bit his lower lip. His heart ached with the desire to tell his sister all about what he had learned about Levi and Erwin. Maybe if he got it off of his chest, he wouldn’t feel so awful. But a promise was a promise—and a promise with Levi was an even more important promise. “I just want everything to go according to plan.” He sighed. At least there was some truth in that statement.  
7:45 PM. Levi was a little later than Eren was expecting. But after Mikasa had returned his cell phone to him left his room, Eren overheard an elongated honk from outside his bedroom window. He all but raced to the ledge, parting his dark blue curtains and peeking out from between them. Sure enough, there was his date— wait, what? This wasn’t a date, was it? No, Levi was just his chauffeur. After racing downstairs to say goodbye to his parents, the brunet was on his way out the door. 

Eren held his breath as he opened the passenger seat door of Levi’s car. Why? He wasn’t so sure. But he only allowed himself to breathe once he was finally buckled in, his back slumping against the back of the car’s warm seat. He allowed himself a moment to close his eyes, to clear his mind of all the negative thoughts swirling inside of his brain. That peaceful moment, however, was quickly interrupted by a faint chuckle from Levi’s lips. 

“Someone’s a little excited.”

Eren’s head all but snapped to the side at the sound of his captain’s voice. His eyes flew open and he was immediately greeted by the sight of Levi’s well-put together outfit. 

Levi wore an ancient, yet incredibly expensive looking sweater on his torso. It was just a little bit too big for his frame, giving an effortless over-sized look. It was woven with earthy tones—brown, beige, a soft orange… The sleeves, similarly to Eren’s, had been pushed up to his elbows. Underneath, a maroon colored collar peeked out from the sweater. His pants were a beautiful chocolate color. They matched the slouchy fit of the beanie on his head. Normally, people wore hats when they had bad hair days. But Eren could clearly tell that Levi had taken the time to style those locks that peeked out from beneath his hat. His eyes were shieled with a pair of aviator style sunglasses. His outfit practically screamed “I’m a hipster!”

But all the same, Eren found it to be incredibly flattering on his captain.

But, the brunet had forgotten that Levi had eyes underneath those shades. He scoffed as he watched Eren scan him up and down multiple times over. “Like what you see?” He chuckled as he shifted the car into drive.

Eren practically jumped at the question. He blinked once before furrowing his brow and crossing his arms over his chest in defeat. “Shut up.” He hissed beneath his breath. 

“You look nice, too.” Levi replied through smirking lips. 

Eren hadn’t been expecting that. He turned his head to the side just enough, secretively taking a glance at Levi’s smug expression as he drove the car out of the neighborhood. What was this? Why did his face feel so hot? He felt like hiding his head within his hands. If Levi saw that he was blushing, he would definitely make fun of him. Eren was praying that his captain would keep his eyes on the road like he should be. 

“I didn’t have any trouble finding your house. Thank God for GPS.” Levi breathed, pressing just a little bit harder on the accelerator as he turned the car out onto the busy high way. 

“Oh, that’s good.” Eren replied quietly. “How far away is Erwin’s house?”

“Not far from here.” Levi replied easily, clicking on his blinker as he merged into traffic. “We should arrive right on time.”

That was so like him. Levi always liked to be on time. Not too early, and certainly never too late.

“That’s good…” Eren breathed. His voice felt disconnected from the rest of his mind. His brain had reverted back to its old ways—back to fretting over running into Erwin. It was his party, after all. It was inevitable that they would meet at some point. The brunet’s brow twitched at the thought. His upper half tightened as he scooted closer to the window of Levi’s car. With each passing tree on the side of the road, Eren’s heart beat a little faster.

Upon reaching a stoplight, Levi glanced over his shoulder. The sight of Eren practically curled up into a ball upon the car seat caused his lips to thin into one hard line. He gripped the wheel just a little bit tighter as the light shifted into a bright green color. 

“You’re tense.” Levi sighed as he pressed his toes against the gas pedal. 

“…Am I?” Eren laughed, his voice raising an octave or two. Immediately, his body straightened. His hands that were once wrapped around his knees fell into his lap, laying atop his thighs in tight little fists.

Levi scoffed, shaking his head before he turned his gaze back to the open road ahead. “You’re worrying about Erwin, aren’t you?”

Eren didn’t have a response. He wanted to say yes, but his lips were sealed shut. It was as if that lip balm he applied before heading out the door was made of glue. Instead of speaking, he shifted his position in the passenger’s seat. His back, muscles tight and strained, nestled against the cushioned seat. His chin tucked under and rested against the very start of his chest. He emitted one elongated sigh before giving the faintest nod of his head. He was sure that Levi’s peripheral vision was sharp enough to see the gesture.

Levi tilted his head to the side after making note of the other man’s nod. He clicked his tongue against his teeth, his grip on the wheel growing loose. Soon enough, there was only one hand resting on the top of the steering wheel, while the other tucked a lock of stray ebony hair away from his eyes. “Don’t be.” He sighed. “I know that… because of my past with Erwin, he can seem a little bit intimidating.” Levi paused for a brief moment. He allowed his tongue to peek out between his lips, wetting the outer corner of his mouth. “But I will do everything in my power to keep you away from him, Eren. At least, if that will make you feel more comfortable.”

Eren’s eyes were immediately drawn to Levi’s face as he spoke. He could tell by the gentle nature of his captain’s voice that what he had to say would be meaningful. Sure enough, the words that he had spoken did not let the brunet down. In fact, Eren was sure that his heart skipped a beat. He never imagined that Levi would do something so kind—and especially not for him. Maybe he had been underestimating Levi’s compassion for others all along.

Maybe this was the side of Levi that Erwin had fallen in love with.

Inhaling a quick breath, Eren found his lips slowly lifting upward into a smile filled with grace. “Thank you, Levi.” He whispered. “That would mean a lot to me.”

“I’ll do my best, then.” Levi replied strongly. As he spoke, he made one final turn off of the bustling road. Now, the car was driving toward a gated community. Was this where Erwin lived? Was he rich or something?

Levi pulled the car up next to the keypad that would unlock the gate. After reaching for a slip of paper on the dashboard, he entered a series of digits. Shortly after, an elongated beep signaled the opening of the gates. As Eren lifted his head to watch the iron cast gates part, his heart all but dropped into his stomach. As if he were preparing for some kind of roller coaster ride, his hand snapped up to grab hold to the handle hanging on the ceiling above his head. 

“Eren, you’re going to be okay.” Levi breathed, already stepping on the gas to coast through the gate and Erwin’s neighborhood. Funny, hadn’t Eren just told himself those very same words not too long ago?

With each passing house, the over all value of the development seemed to increase. It was like the homes were built on a scale from least lavish to most lavish… not saying that they weren’t all extremely elaborate. They were all mansions. They must have all had at least four stories. Eren knew that Erwin was well off—he could tell just by his appearance—but he never imagined that his drum major would live in a place like this…

It was no wonder his parties were so famous.

Only a few more houses passed by the window that Eren’s eyes had been glued to. Soon enough, the vehicle had stopped all together. Levi shifted his car into “park” and set the parking break before removing his keys from the ignition. Before anything else, he moved to push his sunglasses off of his face and up onto his head. He eyed Eren with one of the most gentle gazes that the brunet had seen to date. 

“Seriously, Eren.” Levi sighed. “I don’t want you to worry about anything… I know that you’ve been looking forward to one of these parties for a really long time, and I don’t want my past with Erwin to ruin anything about it.”

Eren allowed himself to settle after hearing his captain speak. His teeth grazed his lower lip as he ran his anxious hands over his thighs. He nodded slowly, once, twice… mainly for his own good. The motion soothed his aching head. But once he had gone over Levi’s words multiple times in his head, he turned to face the man with a set of equally sincere emerald hues.

“I’m fine.” He decided. He had to be. Worrying this much… it was ridiculous. Eren was about to experience a once-in-a-lifetime event, and he wasn’t going to let his stupid nerves ruin the moment for him. “You’re right. Everything is going to be okay.”

Levi’s lips were quick to twitch upward into a smirk. Already moving toward the car door, he looked over his shoulder and gave Eren a once over before pulling the door open. Eren could already hear the bass booming from inside Erwin’s home. “I told you that much.” He chuckled on his way out.

After Eren had hurriedly unbuckled himself and all but fell out of the car, he raced after Levi to join him in the tedious climb up the stone staircase to Erwin’s front door. Even the _door_ was expensive looking. It had a grand handle, and intricate carvings throughout. Levi was the one who reached up to give a knock upon that door. After all, he knew Erwin’s home far better than Eren.

“I bet he won’t even answer the door.” Levi scoffed, taking a step back and crossing his arms over his chest as he waited for an answer. “He never did before. It was always one of our friends.”

The tapping of Levi’s foot against the pavement was enough to fill Eren’s mind. He didn’t want to be anxious, but his heart was racing. Levi said that Erwin wouldn’t answer the door. He had nothing to worry about. He wouldn’t run into Erwin at all. Everything would be just fine—No, everything would be great. But still, that tapping… It was getting louder. Or was that something else? 

Before Eren could blink, the door had been opened. He’d missed the sound of the lock clicking open on the other side. He had found a set of feet first. These feet were wearing a pair of beautiful looking oxfords. They must have cost a fortune. Next, Eren’s eyes found a pair of black slacks. Who wore such dressy pants to a house party? His blue-green hues shifting up, he was gifted with the sight of a beautifully woven sweater vest. It must have been made of a rich material… like cashmere. It was a color of a delicious deep wine. What, this guy was wearing a button up underneath, too? Who did he think he was? A snob?

“Eren--?” That voice was familiar. It was deep. It was powerful. It caused the brunet’s bones to feel numb, it sent a shiver down his spine. 

All at once, Eren snapped his head up. His gaze was met with a set of bright blue, piercing orbs. Those eyes could only belong to one person… 

Erwin had answered the door after all.

“What are you doing here?”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW! Okay, I never thought that I would be able to write a chapter this long. This chapter totaled in just under 7,000 words! It's even longer than the last one! It took a very long time to write. I was really conflicted about where I wanted the chapter to end. As I was writing this chapter, I felt as if the quality was dwindling. I hope you all find my writing to be okay. 
> 
> In other news, I decided to do a quick character background sort of thing for those that have not been in the story as much as they should be. The members of the 104th should be introduced sooner or later, as well as the others from the scouting legion. I hope to make side stories about certain characters later! Here's what I created if you're interested in reading:
> 
> Reiner and Bertholdt are both on drum line because they’re buff and can carry their drums around no problem. Reiner is lead snare while Bertholdt plays quints.
> 
> Annie plays mellophone. She likes to keep to herself, but during band trips she tends to tag along with Reiner and Bertholdt.
> 
> Connie and Sasha are both on sousaphone— the dorks. They always cause trouble together.
> 
> Jean plays trumpet and is section leader. He takes that title a little too far and lets it get over his head.
> 
> Marco is also on trumpet. He’s one of the best players in the section and does his best to keep Jean calm. He feels sorry for the underclassmen. 
> 
> Ymir is in pit for field show season. She plays the the marimba for the front ensemble and bells for marching season. She likes to show off her muscles for Krista to see during camp.
> 
> Krista plays flute and piccolo because I find the instrument to be really petite and pretty just like her. 
> 
> Armin obviously plays trombone and will have to take on the role as section leader now that Eren has joined the color guard.
> 
> Mikasa still plays clarinet and is section leader.
> 
> As for the others—
> 
> Hanji is the sax section leader. She’s an extremely laid-back leader.
> 
> Moblit plays alto sax and gets dragged everywhere by Hanji. Whenever Hanji is gone—which is all too often— he steps up as section leader.
> 
> Mike is on drum line too, he’s lead bass drum. Bertholdt admires him and hopes that he can take his place next year when he graduates.
> 
> Nanaba is the flute section leader. She’s relatively calm and cool and loves to spend time with Mike.
> 
> Nile also plays mellophone. The section is small, but he takes his role as section leader very seriously.
> 
> Erwin is still drum major. He auditioned for drum major his sophomore year and has been leading the band for both his junior and senior years. Before that, he was in the saxophone section.
> 
> As always, you can follow me on tumblr! However, I have changed my URL. It's now hip-storia rather than p-jean. I also track the tag 'fic:spinning the flags of freedom', so feel free to post whatever you'd like in regards to my story there!
> 
> PS: I apologize for all of the initial errors. I corrected them all! I hope...
> 
> Thank you all very much for reading!


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